2019 MAAC Baseball Championship Preview
EDISON, NJ - The 2019 edition of the MAAC Baseball Championship gets underway on Wednesday, May 22 at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark on Staten Island, New York with the first three games of the six-team double elimination championship.
The schedule for Wednesday is No. 3 Fairfield University against No. 6 Monmouth University at 11 a.m. Game two of the day is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start and features No. 4 Marist College and No. 5 Manhattan College. The nightcap of the tripleheader is No. 1 Canisius College against the lowest advancing seed from games one and two at 7 p.m. All games throughout the championship will air on ESPN+.
Fairfield (31-23, 15-9 MAAC) meets Monmouth (26-27-1, 13-11) for the fourth time this season and the first time in postseason history on Wednesday morning. The Stags took 2-of-3 from the Hawks on April 19 and 20. Fairfield went 3-3 over its last two MAAC series while Monmouth went 5-1 over its final six MAAC games to secure the final spot in the championship. The Stags (3.99) and the Hawks (4.19) ranked first and second in the MAAC in ERA this season.
Marist (27-24, 15-9) and Manhattan (24-31, 15-9) will meet for a fourth time this season in game two on Wednesday. Marist took games two and three of the season series with the final win coming in extra innings back on April 20. The last meeting between the Red Foxes and the Jaspers in the MAAC Championship came in 2010. Both Marist and Manhattan went 3-3 over their last six league contests. Marist led the MAAC in average (.289) and on-base percentage (.380), while Manhattan was fourth in average (.273) and third in on-base (.361).
Top-seeded Canisius (24-27, 17-7) enters the championship as the defending MAAC Champions and are aiming for a third title in five years. The Golden Griffins shared the regular season title with Quinnipiac University. The Golden Griffins are looking to be the first team to repeat as champions since Manhattan in 2011 and 2012. Defensively, the Griffs were second in fielding percentage (.972) and fewest errors (50).
Second-seeded Quinnipiac (26-27, 17-7) does not play until 11 a.m. on Thursday against the higher seed of the advancing teams from games one and two on Wednesday. The Bobcats enter the championship on a four-game winning streak. Quinnipiac is seeking the program’s first MAAC Championship in baseball since joining the league in 2014. The Bobcats led the league in stolen bases with 104 and were second in average at .280.
For more information on the 2019 MAAC Baseball Championship, visit
maacsports.com/baseball. Tickets for the 2019 Championship are available for purchase
here, and will also be available at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark during the championship.
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.