After the regular season featured largely conference-only schedules, the MAAC also changed the postseason setup for the conference championship. The quarterfinals became best-of-three series’ while the semifinals and finals are double-elimination bracket play.
With the championship formatting changes, the postseason started a week early for MAAC teams, as the quarterfinal round took place this past weekend.
Matchups around the league for the first round of the postseason included #1-seed Monmouth taking on #8 Marist; #2 Canisius against #7 Rider; #3-seed Iona vs. #6 Manhattan; and #4 Fairfield up against #5 Siena.
Marist pulled off the biggest upset of the weekend, winning the first two games against regular-season champion Monmouth to send the Hawks home early. Monmouth had been in search of their third-consecutive conference title. Marist, who started their season very late due to campus-wide COVID issues earlier in the spring, had lost the season series to Monmouth but came out swinging to open the postseason and it paid off.
Second-seeded Canisius had to come from behind, but did survive as the top remaining seed heading into the second round of the tournament. The Griffs dropped the opening game to Rider, a 4-3 affair, but came back with back-to-back wins to close the series on a high note. As the top remaining seed after the quarterfinals, Canisius will host the remainder of the championship.
Yet another upset took place in the 3 vs. 6 matchup, as Manhattan College rode a major offensive onslaught to victory. The lower-seeded Jaspers opened the series with a win, but when Iona took the victory in game 2, it set up a winner-take-all final matchup. The Jaspers responded with an 11-run offensive attack that included five runs in the 7th inning to secure their place in the championship semis.
Fairfield dominated their series against Siena, winning the series 2-0 over the Saints. Fairfield outscored their opponent 8-2 in the pair of games, and rode an Allie Bridgman shutout to victory in game one. The Stags took an early 4-0 lead before allowing Siena on the board in game 2, but limited the damage and advanced.
The double-elimination championship round will feature #2 Canisius vs. #8 Marist and #4 Fairfield vs. #6 Manhattan as opening games. The last team standing will earn the MAAC’s automatic qualifying berth to the NCAA tournament.
