Monmouth Selected as 2019 MAAC Softball Preseason Favorites; Fairfield’s Courtney Hankins Named Preseason Player of the Year
Monmouth Selected as 2019 MAAC Softball Preseason Favorites; Fairfield’s Courtney Hankins Named Preseason Player of the Year
Edison, NJ – Monmouth University has been named the preseason favorite to win the 2019 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Softball Championship, as voted on by the league’s head coaches. Fairfield University’s senior infielder Courtney Hankins was named the 2019 Preseason Player of the Year
The Hawks finished with a total of 112 points and six first place votes. Monmouth is coming off of the school’s first ever title after defeating Fairfield 5-1 in last year’s championship game. The Hawks were lifted by a five run fifth inning after trailing 1-0 earlier in the contest. Senior pitcher Amanda Riley was named game MVP after pitching a complete game, only allowing one run. Monmouth would go on to compete in the NCAA Tournament, where they would eventually fall to Tennessee and Ohio.
Fairfield was second with 107 points and three first-place votes. The Stags are returning the 2018 Player of the Year, infielder Courtney Hankins, who batted .383 last season with 54 hits, 31 RBI, 25 runs, and eight home runs. During conference play, she batted a league-high .491 on 27 hits with 15 RBI. Hankins was voted as the 2019 Preseason Player of the Year, as well as being named an infielder on the Preseason All-MAAC Team.
Marist College was picked third with 99 points and one first-place vote. The Red Foxes have a league-high four players that were named to the Preseason All-MAAC Team in catcher Claire Oberdorf, infielder Caroline Baratta, outfielder Ali Milam, and pitcher Megan Beiermeister. These four players were a key factor in last season’s MAAC Tournament, as Marist collected victories over Siena College, Iona College, and Manhattan College before being eliminated to runner-up Fairfield. Oberdorf batted .290 while also stealing 14 bases, the second highest in the league. Baratta, the 2018 Rookie of the Year, hit .317 while leading the league in hits with 66. Milam led the league in RBI with 54, 18 more than the next highest total. She also led the league in homeruns with 11, and was second in hits with 61. Beiermeister was the ace for the Red Foxes, collecting 13 wins in 30 appearances with a 2.85 ERA.
Manhattan and Siena finished fourth and fifth respectively in the Preseason Poll, earning a total of 72 and 67 points. Manhattan’s Lauren Pitney and Siena’s Madysen Cossack were both named infielders on the Preseason All-MAAC team. Last season, Pitney batted .310 with 46 runs and 25 RBI for the Jaspers, while Cossack knocked in 31 runs and crossed home 24 times while batting a league-best .406 throughout the year for the Saints. Cossack was the 2017 MAAC Player of the Year as a sophomore.
Iona finished sixth in the Preseason Poll with 63 points. Junior pitcher Marnie Skinner was voted Preseason All-MAAC in the circle for the Gaels after going 9-9 in 23 appearances with a 2.41 ERA in 2018, the fifth lowest ERA in the conference.
Canisius College and Quinnipiac University finished in a tie for seventh place, both receiving 52 votes with Quinnipiac grabbing one first-place vote. The Golden Griffs are represented by outfielder Kara Paradowski and utility player Lauren Castro on the Preseason All-MAAC Team, while the Bobcats are represented by outfielder Erin Larsen. Paradowski led the MAAC in steals in 2018, collecting 26 on 27 attempts while batting .299, while Castro served as a versatile player for Canisius by both pitching and playing the infield. Quinnipiac’s Larson ranked fifth in batting average last year, batting .350 with 48 hits, 29 runs, and 29 RBI for the Bobcats.
Niagara University, Rider University, and Saint Peter’s University round out the 2019 Preseason Poll receiving 51, 39, and 12 points respectively. Rider’s Elyse Cuttic was named to the Preseason All-MAAC Team as the designated player. Cuttic pitched to a 3.08 ERA while also batting .310 with 33 RBI for the Broncs last season.
The 2019 MAAC Softball Championship will take place May 8-11 and will be hosted by the number one seed. For more information, visit
maacsports.com/softball.
Preseason Coaches’ Poll
| Rank |
School |
Total Points |
| 1 |
Monmouth (6) |
112 |
| 2 |
Fairfield (3) |
107 |
| 3 |
Marist (1) |
99 |
| 4 |
Manhattan |
72 |
| 5 |
Siena |
67 |
| 6 |
Iona |
63 |
| 7 |
Canisius |
52 |
| 7 |
Quinnipiac (1) |
52 |
| 9 |
Niagara |
51 |
| 10 |
Rider |
39 |
| 11 |
Saint Peter's |
12 |
Preseason All-MAAC Team
| Player |
Position |
School |
| Claire Oberdorf |
C |
Marist |
| Caroline Caratta |
INF |
Marist |
| Madysen Cossack |
INF |
Siena |
| Courtney Hankins |
INF |
Fairfield |
| Lauren Pitney |
INF |
Manhattan |
| Erin Larsen |
OF |
Quinnipiac |
| Ali Milam |
OF |
Marist |
| Kara Paradowski |
OF |
Canisius |
| Elyse Cuttic |
DP |
Rider |
| Lauren Castro |
UT |
Canisius |
| Megan Beiermeister |
P |
Marist |
| Marnie Skinner |
P |
Iona |
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 38
th year of competition during the 2018-19 academic year. Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.