2021 MAAC Softball Championship Preview
EDISON, N.J. (May 6, 2021) – The 2021 MAAC Softball Championship is set to begin Friday, May 7. The Quarterfinal Round best of three series will feature No. 1 Monmouth vs. No. 8 Marist, No. 2 Canisius vs. No. 7 Rider, No. 3 Iona vs. No. 6 Manhattan, No. 4 Fairfield vs. No. 5 Siena. The winner will move on to the Championship Double-Elimination Round which will take place from Thursday, May 13, to Sunday, May 16, and will be hosted by the highest remaining seed.
The quarterfinals will begin on Friday with No. 1 Monmouth (25-7, 25-7 MAAC) vs. No. 8 Marist (12-10, 12-14 MAAC) at 1:00 p.m. with the first game of the doubleheader. The Red Foxes will be looking for revenge in this rematch of the 2019 Softball Championship as they will look to stop the Hawks from winning their third straight MAAC title. Monmouth won three of four from Marist in the regular season and is 11-5 at home. The series will feature the MAAC leader in batting average, Kaley Coltrain (.459), and the MAAC leader in ERA, Alyssa Irons (1.42).
The other quarterfinal series starting at 1:00 p.m. on Friday is No. 4 Fairfield (20-12, 20-12 MAAC) vs. No. 5 (19-13, 19-13 MAAC). Siena will be looking for history to repeat itself as the Saints defeated Fairfield in the first game of the 2019 MAAC Softball Championship, 1-0. The Stags will host Siena at Alumni Softball Field in Fairfield, CT, for the second time this season, the two split their season series 2-2. The Stags are led on offense by Mikayla Rubin who leads the team in RBIs (18) and home runs (4). The Saints have Isabelle DeChiaro and Maritza Diaz who are both in the top-10 in batting average in the conference hitting .385 and .384 respectively.
No. 2 Canisius (18-11, 22-11 MAAC) will host No. 7 Rider (16-18, 16-18 MAAC) on Saturday, May 8 at 12:00 p.m. to kick off their quarterfinal series. The conference leader in championships (12), Canisius, will be looking to return to the MAAC Championship Game for the first time since 2010 and the Broncs will be looking to claim their program’s second MAAC Title. In the regular, season the Golden Griffs hosted Rider and defeated them in three out of four games. Canisius finished second in the MAAC after being selected to finish sixth in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The Broncs made the postseason after being selected to finish 10
th in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll. This matchup will also feature two of the top five hitters in the MAAC as Rider’s Lani Moreno (.435) and Canisius’ Kara Paradowski (.390) faceoff.
The final quarterfinal series will take place between No. 3 Iona (21-10, 21-10 MAAC) and No. 6 Manhattan (17-13, 17-13 MAAC). The series will kick off on Saturday, May 8 at noon in New Rochelle, NY as the Gaels play host to the Jaspers. Iona and Manhattan finished the season playing each other in a doubleheader on May 4 with Iona taking both games and the Gaels won the season series 3-1. The Jaspers will be returning to the postseason after missing the championship in 2019 and will be in search of their first title since 1999. Iona will also be looking to reclaim a MAAC Title after they won four championships in five years from 2010-14. The Gales are led by pitcher Kara Zazzaro who led the MAAC in wins this season with 18. Zazzaro has a 2.24 ERA and pitched 15 complete games this season. Manhattan’s offense is led by Daniela Chiorazzi who has 16 RBIs and five home runs to led the Jaspers, Chiorazzi is also hitting .274 and had a .366 on-base percentage.
For more information on the 2021 MAAC Softball Championship, visit MAACSports.com/Softball.
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) celebrates its 40
th year of competition during the 2020-21 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.