LOUDONVILLE, NY - Siena Softball begins its journey for back-to-back Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) championships Wednesday afternoon as the fourth-seeded Saints will take on the winner of #5 Canisius and #8 Sacred Heart (SHU) in their opening game of the MAAC Championships at 4:30 p.m. from Softball Park on the campus of Marist University in Poughkeepsie, NY.
The 2025 MAAC Softball Championship is an eight-team single and double elimination championship taking place between May 7-10, 2025. Games one and two will be single elimination and games 3-12 will be double elimination. Canisius and SHU will play earlier Wednesday at 11:30 a.m.
Having captured the program's first-ever MAAC title last season, the Saints will make their eighth consecutive trip to the tournament (excluding the canceled COVID-19 season), as well as 16th overall MAAC postseason appearance. The Green and Gold have a 17-30 overall record in MAAC Championships games, but are currently riding a four-game winning streak on the heels of last year's title run which also came in Poughkeepsie.
Siena enters postseason play already having tied the program single-season wins record (33), matching last season's championship team. The Saints boast the second-ranked pitching staff in the conference with a 2.93 ERA, led by the three-headed attack of
Alissa Eimont (15-11, 3.24 ERA),
Gracie Goewey (9-1, 1.79 ERA), and
Kaycie Kennedy (9-7, 3.08 ERA).
Now up to 78 innings pitched on the season, Goewey's 1.79 ERA ranks second in the MAAC, while the sophomore has allowed just three earned runs over her last 58 innings of work. She also tied a season single-game MAAC high with 16 strikeouts against Saint Peter's on May 2, and owns a 3/1 strikeout/walk ratio. Reigning 2024 MAAC Championships MVP Eimont is tied for fifth in the league in victories this season, and is sixth with 121 strikeouts, while Kennedy has set various career-highs this season in ERA, wins, appearances, starts, innings and strikeouts.
Goewey's jump in her second season has translated at the plate as well, with the Bend, OR, native leading the Saints with six home runs this season, and posting one of four .300+ batting averages on the unit. The All-MAAC Second Team DP joins fellow All-MAAC Second Team selections
Emma Petersen (.329) and
McKenzie Swinson (.324), and All-Rookie Team honoree
Megan Klein (.365) - who has been scorching hot out of the leadoff spot since taking over third base early April.
Petersen - the team leader with 41 RBI - has been riding a red-hot bat since April 19, going 16-36 (.444) with three home runs, and three doubles over that stretch. She's also reached base in 14 straight games, with Klein (13) and
Ella Milante (10) the next closest. The speedy Swinson is 20-23 on the basepaths this season, and became the all-time program leader in stolen bases with 65 and counting.
The Freshman Klein has become a mainstay at the hot corner since mid-April, as well as the tablesetter for the Saints. Since game two against Mount St. Mary's on April 18, Klein is hitting .425 (17-40) which has helped lead the team to a 9-3 record over that time.
Not to be lost in Siena's solid staff and surge at the dish, the team's play in the field is as smooth as it has been since head coach
Casey Bump took over the helm. The Green and Gold once again top the MAAC with a .973 fielding percentage, a mark which ranks 28th nationally.
The Saints have seen both Sacred Heart and Canisius this season, owning a perfect 5-0 mark combined in games played against them. Siena swept a doubleheader against SHU on Apr. 4, with a 3-1 win in game one and a 6-5 victory in game two. The Green and Gold recently claimed a three-game series against the Golden Griffins at home with 5-1 and 6-1 wins in a Apr. 26 doubleheader, and a 7-2 victory the following day.
Siena has also won each of the past five games against Canisius, with the other two coming in last season's MAAC Tournament. There, the Saints topped the Golden Griffins 8-4 in the semifinals before turning around to beat them the following day in the championship 7-6.
The winner of Siena and SHU/Canisius will remain in the winner's bracket to take on top-seed and host Marist at 2 p.m. on May 8. The loser will play later in an elimination game against whoever falls between Iona and either Rider or Quinnipiac at 9 .m. on May 8.
