POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – Following a hard-fought week of winning, Siena Softball can now officially taste the ultimate prize. The No. 6 seed Saints (32-20) continued its unprecedented run in the 2024 MAAC Softball Championship winner's bracket with an 8-4 win over Canisius (22-20) to reach the MAAC Championship Game for the second time in three years.

The Green and Gold scored first and maintained the lead for the third time in as many days at Softball Park at Gartland Athletic Field in Poughkeepsie, New York to enter Championship Saturday with zero losses in the double-elimination tournament. Siena became the fourth No. 6 seed since the expansion of the tournament in 2014 to clinch a berth in the MAAC title game, doing so for the first time since 2021.

Continuing to carry a model of consistency throughout the postseason, the Saints stuck with the same exact lineup for the third straight day, with redshirt-sophomore pitcher Alissa Eimont further proving her durability with another complete-game win in the circle. As if back-to-back first-inning home runs during the first two games of the tournament were not enough, sophomore Emma Petersen stepped up with a runner on first and again slammed a big-fly, this time to right field, to give Siena a 2-0 lead early on.

While the Saints stranded three Canisius baserunners on the paths in the first two innings, junior McKenzie Swinson joined the home run party in the second inning with a solo shot to left center to give the designated visitors a 3-0 lead after two innings for the third straight day.

Early Siena run support and defensive work led the way for the team to break things open in the top of the third. Junior Ashley Giampolo's first hit of the tournament came with the bases loaded and nobody out to score a pair on an RBI double, which led to 2022 MAAC Tournament MVP and three-time All-MAAC selection Megan Giese exiting the circle for the Golden Griffins. Redshirt-senior Diana Parker then continued the offensive outburst with an RBI single to score junior Madi Silber, while Giampolo came in on a sacrifice fly from senior Mikala Fletcher and Parker came home on a throwing error.

Siena then retired seven of the next eight batters to set up a potential run-rule ending to the game with an eight-run lead, but Canisius rallied to load the bases in the bottom of the fifth for power hitter Gianna Fazzolari, who took a grand slam to left center to cut the lead in half and extend the game. Both teams stranded a runner on-base in the sixth to set up another battle in the bottom of the seventh. Eimont remained in the game and faced trouble with the bases loaded and one out, but induced a pair of fly outs to keep the Saints rolling in the winner's bracket.

The Saints won despite being out-hit for the second straight day, with Canisius holding a 10-9 advantage in knocks. Petersen and Silber each recorded multi-hit days, with the former extending her on-base streak to 11 games and her RBI total in the postseason to eight – all on home runs. Eimont (19-8) moved just one win away from tying the Siena single-season program record with three strikeouts.

The Saints will face either No. 1 Marist, No. No Niagara, or No. 4 Canisius in Saturday's MAAC Championship Game at 11 AM. Siena would clinch its first conference title in program history, or move on to a winner-take-all game 11 immediately after with a loss. No. 6 seeds are 2-1 in the MAAC Championship Game since the tournament's expansion in 2014, while a winner-take-all game has only been forced twice and not since 2015.