The Stories That Start a Season

Every season has a beginning.

Before teams start thinking about standings, postseason aspirations, or championships, there's an opening day. It's the first conference game—the point where everything that happened during the non-conference schedule gives way to the games that matter most.

For Quinnipiac Softball, that moment came on March 7 in Jersey City against Saint Peter's.

The weekend was originally scheduled to begin with a Saturday doubleheader before concluding with a single game on Sunday. First pitches were set for 12:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m., and noon on Sunday, but weather adjustments reshaped the schedule into one game Saturday followed by a Sunday doubleheader.

My own day started hours before first pitch.

After spending the previous night in Ocean City, New Jersey, I made the drive north to Jersey City to photograph Quinnipiac's first MAAC game of the season. I knew there would be another destination waiting after the final out—Atlantic City for the men's basketball tournament that evening, followed by the women's semifinal the next day—but for the afternoon, my attention was entirely on the softball field.

There's something different about a conference opener.

Every pitch carries a little more importance because it begins the race that every team measures itself against. The standings are still blank. Every team believes it has something to prove. Every win becomes the first step toward the goals that have been talked about since preseason practice.

Quinnipiac couldn't have scripted a better opening.

Kennedy DeMott gave the Bobcats an early advantage with a two-run home run in the first inning, immediately putting Quinnipiac in control. But conference games rarely stay comfortable for long.

Saint Peter's answered with three runs in the second inning to claim the lead, reminding everyone why conference play is rarely predictable. Momentum had shifted, the home crowd had found its voice, and suddenly the Bobcats faced their first real test of the MAAC season.

What impressed me wasn't the early lead.

It was the response.

Instead of pressing, Quinnipiac played composed softball. The Bobcats manufactured three runs in the third inning through timely hitting, patient at-bats, and aggressive baserunning before leaning on their pitching and defense to protect a narrow lead the rest of the afternoon. Saint Peter's pulled within one run in the fifth, but Quinnipiac never surrendered control again, securing a 5-4 victory and opening conference play with an important road win.

Looking back, that's what I remember most.

Not the home run.

Not the score.

Not even the miles that came afterward.

I remember watching a team respond the way good conference teams have to respond. Every season brings adversity, and in the very first MAAC game of the year, Quinnipiac faced it head-on.

Once the final out was recorded, the afternoon quickly shifted gears.

The cameras went back into the bag, and I headed south to Atlantic City to photograph Quinnipiac Men's Basketball in the MAAC Tournament later that evening. The following day brought another trip back to Boardwalk Hall after the women's team earned a semifinal appearance with its Friday victory.

It made for one of the busiest weekends of my season, but the basketball games are simply what bookended the day.

When I think back on that Saturday, I don't immediately think about Atlantic City.

I think about standing along the fence line in Jersey City as conference play officially began. I think about the energy that comes with Opening Day in the MAAC. And I think about a team that started its conference journey exactly the way it hoped—with resilience, composure, and a win.

Because every championship race...

Starts with Game One.

CHECK OUT THE FULL GAME ALBUM BELOW THIS POST

Sideline Stories.

Telling Stories Beyond the Scoreboard.