February 19, 2011 FARMVILLE, Va. - The Quinnipiac University softball team lost its first two games of the 2011 season at the Longwood Leadoff on Saturday. The Bobcats fell, 5-3, against both IUPUI and Army.

The Bobcats faced IUPUI in their first contest of the day. Quinnipiac took a 2-0 lead in the fifth inning. Lauren Salgado (Covina, Calif.) singled to the shortstop and stole second before moving to third on a Christy Cabrera (Reno, Nev.) sacrifice bunt. Jacqueline Ristow (Seal Beach, Calif.) singled to center field, driving in Salgado, for a 1-0 lead. Ristow scored on a fielding error by IUPUI.

IUPUI scored all of its five runs in the sixth inning to take a three-run lead heading into the seventh inning. Ristow scored her second run of the game in the Bobcats' final at-bats after Quinnipiac loaded the bases.
Ristow went 2-for-4 in the game, contributing two runs and one RBI. Salgado added a run and a hit in the match-up. Freshman pitcher Emily O'Keefe (Southington, Conn.) took the loss in her collegiate debut, after pitching five and a third innings. O'Keefe allowed five errors, and five runs on six hits. Freshman Katie Alfiere (Beacon Falls, Conn.) came in the sixth inning and pitched the final 1 1/3 innings for the Bobcats.

The Bobcats dropped their second game of the day, 5-3, to the Army Black Knights. Army took a 2-1 lead after the completion of the first inning. Ristow scored Quinnipiac's only run of the inning off of a Joelle Jacobsen (Flemington, N.J.) RBI. Army's Alex blasted a two-run homerun in the first for the Black Knights.

Army went on to score two runs in the fourth and its last run in the sixth inning. Trailing 5-1, the Bobcats added another two runs in the seventh inning. Ashley Heiberger (Sioux Falls, S.D.) scored a run for the Bobcats, stealing home, and Salgado walked, allowing Bridget Figmic (Stratford, Conn.) to score.

Ristow and catcher Ashley Heiberger each went 1-for-2 with a run scored. Junior Heather Schwartzburg (Mission Viejo, Calif.) pitched all six innings for the Bobcats, striking out 10 while allowing five runs on six hits.

Quinnipiac plays its final-two games of the Lancer Leadoff, Sunday, Feb. 20 against Army at 9 a.m. and host Longwood at 1 p.m. Both games will be played at Lancer Field.