Fairfield Tabbed MAAC Softball Preseason No. 1; Siena’s Madysen Cossack Named Preseason Player of the Year
EDISON, NJ – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) announced today that Fairfield University was selected as the 2018 MAAC Softball Preseason favorite based on a vote by the leagues’ 11 head coaches. The Stags received six first-place votes and 111 points overall. Siena College junior Madysen Cossack was named the 2018 MAAC Softball Preseason Player of the Year.
Fairfield (26-28, 11-9 MAAC) took home the 2017 MAAC Softball Championship, defeating Monmouth University, 2-0, behind junior pitcher Destinee Pallotto’s no-hitter. The win marked Fairfield’s third MAAC Softball Championship (2017, 2015, 1991) and second in the past three years.
At the plate, the Stags were fifth in hits (367), tied for fourth in the league in walks (141) fourth in batting average (.265), and second in triples (11). In the circle, Fairfield was seventh in team ERA (3.73), sixth in fewest walks allowed (150), fifth in innings pitched (354.2), and fifth in runs allowed (228).
The 2018 MAAC Preseason Player of the Year is Siena’s Madysen Cossack. The first basemen recorded a league-leading .700 slugging percentage, second-best batting average (.379), third-most runs batted in (45), and tied for third in home runs (10). Cossack claimed the 2017 MAAC Softball Player of the Year honor and was named to the All-MAAC First Team after her sophomore campaign.
Monmouth (25-31, 11-9 MAAC) was voted second in the poll, with three first place votes and 98 total points. The Hawks defeated Marist College in last year’s semifinal, 2-0, en route to its third-straight championship game appearance. Monmouth was third in the MAAC in team ERA (3.22), second in strikeouts (314), and first in fewest home runs allowed (18). The Hawks were third in the MAAC in runs scored (220), third in hits (.382), third in home runs (34), and first in doubles (87).
Behind Monmouth and rounding out the top three is Marist College, who received one first place vote and 95 points overall. The Red Foxes led the MAAC in ERA (2.47), strikeouts (315), batting average (.300), slugging percentage (.422), on-base percentage (.368), runs scored (287), hits (499), runs batted in (249), home runs (39), and total bases (702).
Iona College (89) received one first place vote and was selected fourth in the poll, followed by Manhattan College (84) in fifth, and Siena College (69) in sixth. Canisius College (51) was selected seventh, followed by Quinnipiac University (49) in eighth. In ninth is Niagara University (46) and tying for 10
th is Rider University and Saint Peter’s University (17).
The Preseason All-MAAC team is comprised of four infielders, three outfielders, two pitchers, a catcher, utility, and designated player. Iona and Manhattan tied with a league-high three student-athletes on the team.
Fairfield’s Courtney Hankins, Manhattan’s Lauren Pitney, Quinnipiac’s Rebecca Drake, and Siena’s Madysen Cossack make up the infield. In the outfield is Iona’s Marisa Gergel, Manhattan’s Shannon Puthe, and Marist’s Kourtney Paul. In the circle is Iona’s Alana Evans and Monmouth’s Amanda Riley. At catcher Iona’s Tori Danner, the utility is Manhattan’s Briana Matazinsky, and the designated player is Canisius’ Lauren Castro.
The 2018 MAAC Softball Championship is a six-team event taking place on May 9-13. The Championship will be hosted by the No. 1 overall seed. For more information on the 2018 MAAC Softball Championship, visit
MAACSports.com/softball.
| Preseason Coaches’ Poll |
| 1. |
Fairfield (6) |
111 |
| 2. |
Monmouth (3) |
98 |
| 3. |
Marist (1) |
95 |
| 4. |
Iona (1) |
89 |
| 5. |
Manhattan |
84 |
| 6. |
Siena |
69 |
| 7. |
Canisius |
51 |
| 8. |
Quinnipiac |
49 |
| 9. |
Niagara |
46 |
| T10. |
Rider |
17 |
| T10. |
Saint Peter’s |
17 |
| Preseason All-MAAC Team |
| Name |
Position |
Institution |
| Courtney Hankins |
Infield |
Fairfield |
| Lauren Pitney |
Infield |
Manhattan |
| Rebecca Drake |
Infield |
Quinnipiac |
| Madysen Cossack |
Infield |
Siena |
| Marisa Gergel |
Outfield |
Iona |
| Shannon Puthe |
Outfield |
Manhattan |
| Kourtney Paul |
Outfield |
Marist |
| Alana Evans |
Pitcher |
Iona |
| Amanda Riley |
Pitcher |
Monmouth |
| Tori Danner |
Catcher |
Iona |
| Briana Matazinsky |
Utility |
Manhattan |
| Lauren Castro |
Designated Player |
Canisius |
| Preseason Player of the Year |
| Name |
Position |
Institution |
| Madysen Cossack |
Infield |
Siena |
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) is in its 37
th year of competition during the 2017-18 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.