HAMDEN, Conn. (May 2, 2024) – The Stonehill College Softball team split a doubleheader at the Quinnipiac Softball Field on Thursday in the Skyhawks' final road games of the season, dropping the first before shutting out the Bobcats in the second.

GAME 1 – Quinnipiac 7 (19-22, 8-13 MAAC), Stonehill 2 (11-35, 3-18 NEC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

After a walk and a hit by a pitch to get runners in scoring position, junior Shannon Conte (Amesbury, Mass.) doubled into the left centerfield gap to put the Skyhawks ahead 2-0 in the opening frame of action.

Quinnipiac led off the bottom of the first with a double to left center and eventually tied the score at 2-2 with a bases-loaded double followed by another two-RBI single that gave the Bobcats a 4-2 advantage after the first.

Stonehill and Quinnipiac cooled off over the next two innings but the Bobcats added one more run in the fifth with another double that plated the runner from second base.

A final insurance run came in the bottom of the sixth for Quinnipiac as an RBI single gave the Bobcats a 7-2 lead that proved to be too much for Stonehill who finished the game scoreless after its two-run first inning.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Freshman Harper Sullivan (Glendale, Ariz.) was given the loss, throwing six innings, allowing seven runs, and giving up 11 hits while striking out three as she fell to 2-6 on the year.
• Conte went 1-3 with a double while adding two RBI to her team-leading total of 24 runs batted in.
• Brooke Hilliard and Ella McGalliard each with 2-4 for the Bobcats as Hilliard scored twice and McGalliard scored once while driving in two runs.
• Jaclyn Gonzalez improved to 10-7 this season, pitching four innings and allowing just two runs while Sydney Horan picked up a three-inning save for her second of the season, holding the Skyhawks hitless.
• Bottiglieri went 1-4 as she is hitting .500 (17-34) over the last nine games as she extended her hitting streak to nine.

GAME 2 – Stonehill 3 (12-35, 3-18 NEC), Quinnipiac 0 (19-23, 8-13 MAAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Neither offense plated any runs in the first two innings but a leadoff double in the top of the third from freshman Piper Hofmann (Windermere, Fla.) followed by a passed ball that moved her to third base, eventually led to her coming home on an error to shortstop off the bat of sophomore Natalie Bottiglieri (Massapequa, N.Y.) who got the RBI.

The Bobcats threatened in the bottom half of the third with runners on second and third with just one out but a strikeout and a pop-up to second base allowed junior Skylar Brandemarte (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) to escape the inning unscathed.

Senior Maeve Proulx (Westford, Mass.) notched an RBI on a sacrifice bunt down the third base line to put Stonehill ahead 2-0 in the top of the fourth. Junior Chloe Kelly (East Bridgewater, Mass.) advanced to third on the bunt and scored another run for the Skyhawks on a passed ball.

Aside from a double in the sixth from the Bobcats, Brandemarte kept Quinnipiac off the basepaths and retired 12 of the next 13 batters she faced after the third inning.

Stonehill won the game 3-0 in their final road game and non-conference game of the season on the heels of a dominant performance from Brandemarte and the defense.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Brandemarte had her best outing of the season, walking just one batter, allowing four hits in seven shutout innings, and tallying a season-high seven strikeouts, her most in two seasons at the Division I level.
• Brandemarte now sits at 5-14 on the year while recording her second shutout and eighth complete game of the season.
• Conte had another 1-3 outing as she has started a new three-game hitting streak, the sixth different time this season she has gone on a 3+ game hitting streak.
• Kelly also went 1-3 at the plate while scoring a run and extending her hitting streak to a season-high five games.
• Hofmann tallied a 1-2 showing with a double and a walk drawn while scoring and driving in a run as she now has a three-game hitting streak.
• Bottiglieri's nine-game hit streak came to an end but she extended her on-base streak to 12 games by drawing a walk. She also drove in a run to tally an RBI for the seventh time in the last nine games.

UP NEXT

• Stonehill softball begins their final series of the 2024 campaign on Saturday when the Skyhawks celebrate senior day ahead of a doubleheader against Central Connecticut State at Fr. Gartland Field beginning at 1 p.m.

For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.