Quinnipiac University
LIU Brooklyn
QU Softball Set for Weekend Matchups With LIU Brooklyn and Wagner
3/23/2017 12:15:00 PM | Softball
Quinnipiac University Bobcats (7-13, 0-0 MAAC) vs.
LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds (12-16, 0-0 NEC)
Date: March 24, 2017
Time: 3 P.M.
Location: Bronx, New York
Quinnipiac University Bobcats (7-13, 0-0 MAAC) vs.
Wagner College Seahawks (2-13, 0-0 NEC)
Date: March 25, 2017
Time: 12 P.M. & 2 P.M.
Location: Wagner Softball Field - Staten Island, New York
BACK EAST
The Quinnipiac softball team has returned to the East Coast after competing in contests in California over Spring Break, to take on two former Northeast Conference rivals on the road this weekend.
SCOUTING THE BLACKBIRDS
LIU Brooklyn is off to a 12-16 start to the season and have yet to play any games in NEC play. The team's offense is led by Victoria Zamora, who boasts a .337 batting average through 28 games. She also has two homers and 13 RBIs on the season.
SCOUTING THE SEAHAWKS
Wagner is off to a slow start, at 2-13 so far this season and have lost two straight. Wagner's offense is led by Kaila Smith, who leads the team with three homers and eight RBIs.
LAST TIME OUT
Last time time the Bobcats took the field, they took part in the Cal State Northridge Tournament where they played five games in three days. On the first day of competition, Quinnipiac lost to the University of Northern Colorado, 10-0, and Bryant, 4-1. On the second day, the Bobcats fell to Weber State 2-1. Quinnipiac bounced back in its first game on day three as Quinnipiac rolled to a 2-0 win behind Abbey Long's complete game three-hit shutout. The Bobcats fell in the final game to Cal State Northridge, 8-0.
CSUN/LMU TOURNAMENT
Quinnipiac went 3-2 in its time at the CSUN/LMU Tournament held in Los Angeles and Northridge, California. The Bobcats opened play by defeating Bryant, 11-3 in the first game in five innings. Quinnipiac then fell to No. 5 Arizona, 7-1, but then bounced back to defeat the University of North Dakota, 3-2. The Bobcats split a doubleheader in the final day of competition, losing to Boise State, 25-12, before coming back to beat CSU Bakersfield, 3-1.
MORE LIFE
Rebecca Drake (Whiting, New jersey) has injected life into Quinnipiac's lineup this season. Drake boasts a .371 batting average and has slugged a team-high four homers and driven in 17 runs.
MARVELOUS MAGANA
Miranda Magana (Santa Paula, California) has been one of the team's most consistent hitters so far this season. In 20 games, Magana has a team-leading .379 batting average with two homers and 12 RBIs.
SETTLING IN
Junior transfers Keala Cordeiro (Huntington Beach, California) and Lexi Courtney (Scappoose, Oregon) both have made themselves right at home in the Bobcats' lineup so far this season. Cordeiro has a .230 batting average, and has one home run and seven Rbi's on the season.
Courtney made her presence felt with her play at the CSUN/LMU Tournament. Courtney went 1-for-4 in Quinnipiac's win over Bryant, where she scored twice and drove in a run. She went 1-for-3 in the Bobcats' contest against No. 5 Arizona and scored two runs in Quinnipiac's 3-2 win over North Dakota. In Quinnipiac's loss against Boise State, Courtney went 2-for-4, including a two-run home run in the sixth inning, her first in a Quinnipiac uniform. In Quinnipiac's late-game win over Bakersfield, Courtney singled in a run in the sixth inning to secure the Bobcat's 3-1 win.
THE LONG WAY
Freshman pitcher Abbey Long (Eau Claire, Wisconsin) threw a gem en route to Quinnipiac's 2-0 win over Murray State.Long tossed a complete-game shutout, giving up just three hits and walking one player,while striking out two batters.
The Bobcats' offense did not let Long's performance go to waste as Rebecca Drake (Whiting, New Jersey) and Sarah Heimbach (Greenwich, New York) each chipped in an RBI for run support in the win.
THE MAAC PRESEASON POLL
The Quinnipiac University softball team was picked to finish sixth in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, as announced by the conference office on Monday, Jan. 30, 2017.
BOBCAT RETURNEES
Quinnipiac returns 11 players from last year's squad, seven of which are juniors or seniors. In addition the Bobcats will look to a strong core of four sophomores who each played in at least 40 games including Taylor Troyan (Boca Raton, Florida) and Erin Larsen (Kissimmee, Florida) seeing time in more than 40 games. Troyan led the team in batting average (.301), slugging percentage (.466) and second in home runs (2).
VETS IN THE BOX
The Bobcats return three of the four players that led the team in hits in Sarah Heimbach (Greenwich, New York), Keilani Finley (Alameda, California) and Magana. Magana led the team in hits (46), doubles (9), second in batting average (.282) and in total bases (57). Heimbach led the team in on-base percentage (.390), second in stolen bases (5) and runs (21). Finley led the team in home runs (4), triples (2), RBI's (22) and total bases (63).
WELCOME ABOARD
Five new players join the Bobcats in three freshman, Rachel Marchuk (San Ramon, California), Megan Dyson (Bellmawr, New Jersey) and Long, as well as two junior transfers, Courtney and Cordeiro.
HAMDEN ADVANTAGE
Last season, the Bobcats registered an 11-9 home record at the QU Softball Field.
HEAD COACH JILL KARWOSKI
Head coach Jill Karwoski will guide Quinnipiac in her fourth season at the helm in the hopes of improving on a 2016 season that saw Quinnipiac finish the year at 28-29 overall, which was 10 wins better than the 18 wins the team earned in 2015.
