Photo by Izzy Dibari
Conor Reid, Softball / Baseball Writer
Hamden, Conn. — Quinnipiac softball hasn’t been one of the most dominant teams on campus for the past couple of seasons. Inching their way up from the bottom of the MAAC, the Bobcats finished last in 2022, second-to-last in 2023, and third from the bottom in 2024.
But in 2024, something changed. Head coach Hilary Smith has been shaping Quinnipiac softball into a different team.
“It was about selling the vision of what we thought Quinnipiac softball could be,” said Smith.
The vision has turned itself into a reality. Right now, Quinnipiac softball finds itself perched second in the standings at 9-1, after a record-setting campaign last year — going 14-11 and setting a school-best record since joining the MAAC in 2014.
“We’re a very old team. Most of our starters are seniors, and this is the best leadership we’ve ever had,” Smith said. “All of these girls have been with me for a long time, so they’re showing the younger ones the way it’s supposed to be done. When their number is called, it’s a product of what they’ve done.”
This senior leadership has led the team to its best start to a MAAC season, with six of the team’s starters being seniors. This veteran core is anchored by captains Kennedy DeMott, the catcher, shortstop Natalia Apatiga and third baseman Sophia Vega. Joining them in the starting lineup are the outfield trio of Mary Fogg, Ally Hochstadter and Noelle Reid.
This togetherness has led to a lot of their success, according to DeMott.
“We started with seven. We lost one, but we’ve always had a good group of girls where we are hanging out outside of practice, inside of practice, and always have each other’s back,” said DeMott. “And I think that’s honestly where it starts. Because yes, we can be friends and act friendly on the field, but if we aren’t actually able to create that connection, then it won’t come out on the field.”
The hunger from this senior class comes from all the times they didn’t start as hot as this year.
“Our senior class has been here from when we only got five wins in the MAAC. We don’t want that anymore,” said Vega. “We’re done with being at the bottom. I think we’re just hungry to be at the top.”
That hunger has translated into a culture shift that Fogg says was intentional from the moment they stepped on campus.
“As a class, we said we’re going to be what builds this team,” Fogg said. “We’ve always wanted to have that legacy behind us,.”
But building a softball team in Connecticut comes with its own set of challenges — specifically, snow. This problem forces the Bobcats into a grueling indoor schedule, trading the dirt diamond for a winter spent on slippery tile. And the transition is anything but seamless.
Right now, the team is forced to find its rhythm in sneakers rather than metal cleats, and according to Vega, battling “crazy hops” that fly off the hard floor at speeds they would never see outside.
“Those courts suck. It’s so bad,” said Vega. “Going from a super hoppy surface to dirt that just eats it up … it’s a big adjustment.”
The reality of a Hamden winter means Fogg hadn’t seen a single fly ball outside since October before the first game of the season, leaving the team to rely on pure “trust” and the work they put in months prior.
For a catcher like DeMott, it means “sliding around and hoping for the best” on a surface where traction is nonexistent. But this team refuses to use their environment as a crutch.
“Why say, ‘Oh, I wish we had better facilities?’ This is what we have,” said DeMott. “You need to be grateful for what there is and not wish for more.”
It is this no-excuses mentality that has allowed the Bobcats to turn a geographical disadvantage into the foundation of their historic 5-1 start.
As the Bobcats look to maintain their position at the top of the MAAC, the seniors remain focused on the connection that brought them here. For a program once defined by its seasons of struggle, the view from the top is a product of a vision shared, and a culture built from the ground up.
“Those moments of adrenaline are just like — you can’t replace them,” Fogg said, reflecting on the team’s rise. “Each year we’ve gotten better, and this year is going to be the year for us.”