March 20, 2011 Clearwater, Fla. - The Quinnipiac University softball team (12-11) split two games at the second day of the USF The Game Tournament on Saturday, March 19 in Clearwater, Fla. The Bobcats defeated Dartmouth, 6-5, and lost to Florida Gulf Coast, 5-1.

In the Bobcats' first outing of the day against Dartmouth, the team took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Quinnipiac's Christy Cabrera (Reno, Nev.) led off the inning with a single and advanced to second base on a Jacqueline Ristow (Seal Beach, Calif.) ground out. Cabrera then stole third and scored on a passed ball, after Alex Alba (Sylmar, Calif.) singled to third base. The Bobcats scored their second run when Jordan Paolucci (Lake Mary, Fla.) drove in Alba on a single up the middle. Paolucci went on to score as Bridget Figmic (Stratford, Conn.) hit a single to third base.

Dartmouth responded with two runs in the bottom of the first, narrowing the gap by one run, 3-2. Quinnipiac scored another run in the third inning as Mina Duffy (Piedmont, Calif.) doubled down the left field line, driving in Julia Sini (Elgin, Texas). The Big Green's Hillary Hubert responded with a homerun in the bottom of the third.

Dartmouth took its first lead of the game 5-4, after scoring two runs in the fourth inning. Quinnipiac added a run to tie the game when Lauren Salgado (Covina, Calif.) scored on an Alba single in the sixth inning. The Bobcats' Alex Murray (Milford, Mass.) drove in Figmic on a double to right field for the game-winning run in the seventh.

Four Quinnipiac pitchers saw action against the Big Green. Freshmen Katie Alfiere (Beacon Falls, Conn.) and Emily O'Keefe (Southington, Conn.) each saw two innings for the Bobcats. Duffy entered the game in the fifth inning and picked up the win as she pitched one and 2/3 innings. Junior Heather Schwartzburg (Mission Viejo, Calif.) struck out the last Dartmouth batter for the save.

Alba, Figmic, and Paolucci led the Bobcats as they each drove in a Quinnipiac run, contributed two hits and a run scored. In addition, Duffy went 2-4 with a RBI.

In the Bobcats' 5-1 loss to Florida Gulf Coast, Duffy went 1-3 as she hit her first homerun of the 2011 season. The Eagles took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, followed by three runs in the fourth inning. Duffy scored the Bobcats' only run of the game in the sixth, followed by a FGCU run in the seventh. Schwartzburg went the distance as she scattered five hits in the loss.

The Bobcats complete their five-game stint at the USF The Game Tournament as they play Buffalo on Sunday, March 20 at 9:30 a.m. in Clearwater, Fla.