THIS WEEKEND
The Lady Jaspers (25-21, 12-4 MAAC) enter their third straight MAAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed. Manhattan opens the double-elimination event this afternoon against third-seeded Marist (32-20, 12-4 MAAC), the tournament host. Today's game marks the first time Manhattan and Marist are ever meeting in the postseason. The winner of this afternoon's game takes on either top-seeded Fairfield (29-20, 13-3 MAAC) or No. 4 Iona (27-19, 11-5 MAAC) tomorrow at 11 a.m., while the first-round losers will play at 1 p.m. in the first elimination game.
THE LADY JASPERS
Manhattan (25-21, 12-4 MAAC), which has won five straight games, clinched the No. 2 seed for the MAAC Tournament with a doubleheader sweep at Iona on Sunday afternoon. The Lady Jaspers are making their third consecutive MAAC Tournament appearance. Freshman second baseman/pitcher Kate Bowen paces Manhattan with 39 hits and a .339 batting average. She's also tied for the team lead with 25 RBIs. Senior shortstop/pitcher Melissa Donnelly has also driven in 25 runs, and she leads the pitching staff with a 2.91 ERA. Senior first baseman Jaci Rahey, a First Team All-Northeast selection last season, has belted five home runs to go along with 12 doubles. She also leads the Lady Jaspers with a slugging percentage of .584. Senior Erika Sullivan's 11 wins are the most among Manhattan pitchers, while senior pitcher Ashley Rampino leads the Lady Jaspers in appearances (25), innings pitched (100.0) and strikeouts (54).
THE RED FOXES
Third-seeded Marist (32-20, 12-4 MAAC) is in the MAAC Tournament for the first time since playing in three straight championship games from 2006-08. Junior catcher Megan Lamoureux is Marist's leading hitter with a .367 batting average. She has scored a team-high 37 runs. Junior first baseman Nicole DiVirgilio is batting .348 with a team-leading 57 hits and 15 doubles. DiVirgilio leads the Red Foxes with 40 RBIs. Sophomore catcher Sarah Carmody is also batting over .300 at .318. As a team, Marist has belted 43 home runs this season, led by freshman infielder Haley Birnbaum's eight. Sophomore Emily Osterhaus and freshman Paige Lewis have split the time in the circle for Marist. Lewis leads the team with 15 wins and 113 strikeouts, while Osterhaus has a 2.99 ERA.
THE STAGS
This season, Fairfield (29-20, 13-3 MAAC) won its first MAAC regular season crown since sharing the title with the Lady Jaspers in 2009. The top-seeded Stags return to the MAAC Tournament this year after missing the field last season. Senior first baseman Kristina Lingo paces the Stags with 48 hits and a .322 batting average, while freshman catcher Lauren Liseth is batting .315 with 47 hits. Lingo and Liseth are tied for the team lead with 32 RBIs. Liseth also leads the way in the power department. She has six home runs, 13 doubles and four triples, and has scored 36 runs. Senior Sarah Minice is the ace of the Fairfield pitching staff. She went 16-8 during the regular season, including a remarkable 11-1 in MAAC action. Minice has an ERA of 1.26 (0.56 in MAAC games) and 173 strikeouts in 155.1 innings.
THE GAELS
Defending champion Iona (27-19, 11-5 MAAC) is the No. 4 seed in this season's MAAC Tournament. Senior pitcher/designated player Alyssa Maiese ranks fourth in the MAAC with a .391 batting average. She leads the Gaels in hits (54), doubles (13), home runs (9) and RBIs (34). Maiese also has a 12-7 record in 24 appearances in the circle. She has an ERA of 2.49 and has struck out 117 opposing hitters in 121.0 innings. Junior Chelsea Sheehan is hitting .319, while senior catcher Melanie Gettins and sophomore outfielder Jodi Petersen are tied for second on the team with 21 RBIs. Petersen has also scored a team-high 23 runs. Junior Sarah Jackson, last season's MAAC Pitcher of the Year and MAAC Tournament MVP, is 13-7 with a 2.11 ERA. Jackson has recorded 190 strikeouts in 142.2 innings.
IN THE REGULAR SEASON
The Lady Jaspers posted an impressive 5-1 record against each of the other teams that qualified for the MAAC Tournament in the regular season. Manhattan swept a doubleheader with Marist at Gaelic Park on April 17, winning both games 9-6. On May 1 in Fairfield, Conn., the Lady Jaspers split a twinbill with Fairfield. The Stags took the first game 3-1 before Manhattan rallied for a 4-3 victory in game two. In their season-ending doubleheader at Iona on May 8, the Lady Jaspers knocked off the defending champion Gaels twice. After the Lady Jaspers won the first game 3-2 in eight innings, Erika Sullivan tossed a one-hit shutout in game two, a 3-0 Manhattan victory. Manhattan's 5-1 mark against the rest of the tournament field was easily the best among the four teams. Fairfield and Marist both went 3-3, while Iona was 1-5.