Tuned in

For junior outfielder Mary Fogg, music—like softball—is an outlet for expression.

In a sport that is primarily mental, Fogg uses music to focus. It’s a natural part of her pregame preparation, not just blocking out distractions or serving as background noise, but helping her reset.

“Softball is such a game of failure,” Fogg said. “It allows you to kind of regroup in yourself and be like, ‘OK, whatever just happened doesn’t matter anymore.’”

As Fogg steps towards the batter’s box, her walk-up song—Rihanna’s “Breakin’ Dishes”—plays for the crowd. At this point, it’s no longer just a song; it’s a ritual that sets her up for success.

“When you’re about to go up to bat, it’s just, like kind of a song that’ll get you in the right head space, make you feel good and clear your mind.”

But music’s influence isn’t limited to gameday. It extends to Fogg’s routine, including her training along with her team off the field. In Quinnipiac’s weight room, the speakers blare the softball team’s playlist, one that features contributions from the entire roster.

“Music is really important in the weight room, more than at practice itself,” Fogg said. “Everybody’s listening to music that they enjoy and that will bring their spirits up if their song plays, and it’s kind of like a little boost in their mood.”

The playlist leans heavily into fun, upbeat rap music—songs the team can sing along to while lifting. Drake tracks like “Rich Baby Daddy” and “NOKIA” are staples.

“It’s usually the songs that you can kind of make fun of in a way and make jokes out of,” Fogg said.

But for Fogg, music isn’t just about the preparation for competition—it also helps her find stability in what she calls “a game of failure.” Whether it’s after a rough inning or a bad sequence of events in a game, a single song can be therapeutic for her and her teammates.

“If something goes wrong and we all hear a song that we really like, then it helps reset,” Fogg said. “It sets the energy back and gets everybody back on the same page.”

The positive, upbeat music is essential—not just for Fogg, but for the whole team. If the music between innings were slow and sad, players would be down on themselves and remain frustrated. 

That’s why Fogg and her teammates look to music that creates joy and a sense of camaraderie.

“One of the main things that we’ve been talking about this year is being able to have your teammates back and really supporting them,” Fogg said. “If they make a mistake, it’s like ‘That’s OK, you’re going to get the next ball, you’re going to do the next play for your teammate.”

If every Quinnipiac athlete added a track to a shared playlist, Fogg said hers would be Rihanna’s “Breakin’ Dishes.”

“It has to be, just because I feel like that’s my song of the year,” Fogg said.

Sophomore forward Kahlen Lamarche doesn’t turn to music for motivation—it’s her way of staying grounded.

“I’m a player who kind of doesn’t want to get too caught up in the game or the moment,” Lamarche said. “Songs take my mind off of a big game or having to achieve something in that game.”

Lamarche’s nearly 10-hour playlist is rich in country music, headlined by popular acts such as Luke Combs and Luke Bryan. The easy rhythm of the genre playing through her headphones is an important part of her preparation before taking the ice.

“They’re loosey goosey,” Lamarche said. “They just allow me to have fun and sing along.”

Songs like “When It Rains It Pours” by Luke Combs and “She’s Country” by Jason Aldean are “must plays” in her rotation. The latter, with its driving tempo, finds its way into her headphones closer to puck drop.

“That’s another big song that I love listening to before games,” Lamarche said. “It’s got an upbeat to it and it kind of just gets me in the zone and dialed.”

Even with a handcrafted playlist of country music that is longer than the average American workday, Lamarche has been surprised by her music. One of the most important songs in her life wasn’t one she was looking for—it found her.

“It was kind of like when you click a song and then it goes on a random queue shuffle,” Lamarche said.

That’s how she discovered “What Are You Waiting For” by Nickelback.

The song’s message about taking action and living in the moment helped Lamarche as the Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team’s season came to an end, just shy of an NCAA tournament appearance.

“That song showed me that I’ve got to take action for what I want to come next,” Lamarche said. “If I dwell on the past and what happened, like the next steps, next year, won’t ever happen if I don’t come to terms with what happened.”

The song’s impact didn’t end with the 4-1 loss to Clarkson in the ECAC playoffs.

“It resonated with me at that time, and kind of still does,” Lamarche said. “Leading up to next season, I know that I’ve got to work.”

As Lamarche looks forward to next season, she knows exactly what will keep her ready: her music. Though she initially thought about adding a country song to the Quinnipiac athlete playlist, she ultimately decided against it.

“I’ve got to be considerate when adding country,” Lamarche joked. 

Instead, she chose “What Are You Waiting For” by Nickelback.

As graduate first baseman Sebastian Mueller takes his last practice swing and leaves the on-deck circle, “Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix vibrates through the field’s speakers. 

“My dad’s fantasy football team was named Purple Haze because he really likes that song,” Mueller said. “So I was like, ‘You know what? This actually would be a really good walk-up song.’”

As he steps into the batter’s box, Hendrix’s iconic distorted guitar tone reminds him of the music he grew up listening to.

“It’s always been a part of my life,” Mueller said. “Me and my sister joke around, like going with dad somewhere, you got the dad tunes going. That music’s always flying around the house.”

Both a constant presence in Mueller’s life, rock music and baseball are interwoven when he takes the field for Quinnipiac. And when he says “dad tunes,” he means it—Lynyrd Skynyrd, Deep Purple and his favorite, Led Zeppelin.

“I don’t know what it is about their music,” Mueller said. “It’s something I’ve always connected with.”

The connection runs deep. On game days, there’s hardly room for anyone else in his pregame playlist. Led Zeppelin offers exactly what Mueller needs to get in the right mindset.

“Baseball is a sport mentally where you don’t necessarily want to be super jacked up. You want to be fired up, but not too excited,” Mueller said. “So that’s why, for me, I’ve always liked Led Zeppelin music. I just like the zone it puts me in; it’s good for baseball.”

Mueller’s love for music isn’t confined to his headphones—it extends into the team’s culture.

On the team, he’s known as the “music guy,” the one who controls the music at practice and while training. While this task seems easy, Mueller navigates different genres of music to keep the energy levels high among the team.

“Some days it’s country, some days it’s rock, some days it’s Spanish music,” Mueller said. “Certain parts of baseball are not the most exciting, so having some music going to keep guys in a good mood is very helpful.”

And what also keeps the guys in a good mood? Winning. That occasion has its own anthem. After a big win, Mueller breaks out “Heartache Medication” by John Pardi.

“I’m not sure how it started, but everyone’s kind of learned the words, like, after a big win, we’ll just kind of play that and everyone will scream the words to it,” Mueller said. “So that’s been really fun, it’s funny stuff like that, that just kind of starts organically.”

A playlist for all the Quinnipiac athletes wouldn’t be complete without the baseball team’s DJ. If Mueller had to add one song, it would be “Fool in the Rain” by Led Zeppelin.

“That’d be my pick,” Mueller said. “Just kind of the beat to it, and the song is just a very chill, but also uplifting. That’s probably my pick.”

Senior guard Jackie Grisdale’s music isn’t limited to one mood or emotion to get ready for tipoff. She has music for any headspace she needs to get into to be ready to compete.

“Music is a way that I kind of feel through my emotions,” Grisdale said. “Whether it’s I want to get myself excited before a game, or if I really want to calm myself down, there’s my comfort music that I’ll listen to, and it’ll just be calming to me.”

Grisdale’s 13-hour-long playlist titled “Chilling” is her No. 1 playlist and features a variety music artists, including Tame Impala, Cage the Elephant, Fleetwood Mac and Harry Styles.

“That’s just like songs that are smooth in my mind,” Grisdale said. “They’ll help me focus a little bit more.”

Grisdale’s pregame music has evolved. At one point this season, her music to prepare for competition was more upbeat, featuring more rock acts such as Green Day and The Red Hot Chili Peppers.

After a Dec. 19 game against Rider, one in which Grisdale finished with 14 points, aided by three 3-pointers, she realized that calm music before the game helped her shoot efficiently.

“It was in the morning, so I was like, ‘I can’t listen to like super hardcore hype up music at nine in the morning,’” Grisdale said. “I started that game with a three literally off the tip play, and I just was like, ‘Wow, if I’m gonna shoot like that, then I’ll keep listening to this music that calms me down.’”

Being calm on the court during the heat of battle is crucial to Grisdale’s game, but staying calm off the court, especially while battling an injury, is just as important. 

After being sidelined for most of the 2023-24 season with a lower body injury, the soundtrack of Grisdale’s recovery was calming music that helped take her mind off it.

“That’s when I really got even more attached to Taylor Swift’s music and Mac Miller’s music,” Grisdale said. “They just applied to the situations that I was going through, and I just really connected with that.”

Grisdale’s contribution to the Quinnipiac athlete playlist would be “Glorious” by Macklemore—a song that reminds her of one of the first times she met sophomore guard Maria Kealy, who also shared a love for it.

“That was something we really bonded over,” Grisdale said. “And then our friendship grew, and we always talk about how that song was a big piece of that.”

If you spot freshman tennis player James Lorenzetti on campus, chances are he’ll have AirPods in his ears playing calm music.

“I’m bad with AirPods,” Lorenzetti said. “I probably always have an AirPod in.”

But ahead of every tennis match, Lorenzetti swaps the mellow tunes for something with more energy. Motivational music is a must—it flips a mental switch.

“I know I will be in a zone where I’m going to be locked in before the match,” Lorenzetti said. “It lets me relax.”

As part of the Quinnipiac tennis team’s training, the players often run together to build stamina. During those runs, one song always makes the playlist: “Hard Work” by The U.S. Army Airborne, a team staple that boosts morale.

Anyone who has parked in Quinnipiac’s North Lot has likely heard just how central music is to the team’s training. With a playlist of nearly 200 songs, the team brings energy to every practice. Even as a freshman, Lorenzetti has already added a few tracks of his own.

“‘DTMF’ by Bad Bunny,” Lorenzetti said. “That’s my favorite song, it’s got a lot of meaning behind it.”

It’s a must play before every match. The lyrics help him focus, grounding him in what really matters.

“It’s talking about how you should take more photos with your family, or just more photos in general,” Lorenzetti said. “Not wasting any time or just living in the present moment. So I always listen to that song.”

Among the other tracks that have become iconic parts of the team’s soundtrack are “Ugly Heart” by G.R.L. and “Lose Somebody” by Kygo and OneRepublic.

When asked the question, Spotify or Apple Music, most Quinnipiac athletes had a clear favorite. But Lorenzetti’s answer was a surprise.

“I use Musi, and I get so much hate for it from everyone,” Lorenzetti joked. “But I always say I don’t know why in the world I would pay for Spotify if I can have it for free on Musi.”

Even if he’s streaming through an unconventional app, Lorenzetti’s pick for the Quinnipiac athlete playlist is “Upside Down” by Jack Johnson.

“I listened to it so much when I was younger, way too much,” Lorenzetti said. “But it’s one of my favorite songs of all time. I think it’s an insane song.”