Quinnipiac softball’s youth have not deterred its confidence
Photo Courtesy: Quinnipiac Athletics
February 23, 2020
They may be young, but the returning players on the Quinnipiac softball team have made the transition easy for the incoming class.
“They have been super positive and they always pick me up on and off the field,” said Serena Fogg, a first-year outfielder. “They are so easy to talk to, I love them.”
Last year, the team finished with a 17-33 overall record (8-12 MAAC). This year, they face a new challenge with nine of their 19 players on the roster being a first-year student. The team had seven first-years on the 2019 team, where all but one have returned back to the team this season.
This makes Quinnipiac one of the younger teams in the MAAC this season. However, the situation is not too unfamiliar.
“I’ve grown up with a lot of my teams having really young rosters,” said Fogg. “We grow together and move up, I’ve always loved it, and I think we are going to do great.”
The chemistry has already started to grow. It helps when first-year pitcher Lala Pascual had met first-years Sydney Tedim and Katherine Rodrgiuez before they even committed to Quinnipiac. Pascual and Tedim first met each other back in kindergarten, while Rodriguez used to compete in Florida high school softball against Pascual.
“It’s like I’m at home, but I’m not,” said Pascual. “I’m experiencing new experiences with old friends.”
Despite not being around as a team for a long time, the groups claim they have connected well. The big and welcoming personalities of the upperclassmen has made the transition from high school to college softball a smooth one.
“I think it’s really having those upperclassmen who are really open and welcoming,” said Cy Gonzalez, a first-year infielder. “Right off the bat bridge (referring to Brighid Douglas) and Rachel (Marchuk) especially stood out to me as people who are there to work with you, and just really let you know how everything is run around here.”
The team has just begun play, going 0-5 in its first tournament in Los Angeles this past weekend. They head down to Florida in two weeks as their season gets into full swing.
