The Sacred Heart University softball team will begin its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championship campaign with a matchup against No. 5 seed Quinnipiac on May 5. The fourth-seeded Pioneers are set to play at the No. 1 seed Marist, following a recent series win over Quinnipiac that secured their tournament position.
This meeting marks the fourth consecutive game between Sacred Heart and Quinnipiac, after the teams concluded the regular season with a three-game series. Sacred Heart won two out of three games in that series, including a comeback victory in the final game where they scored four runs in the seventh inning to secure a 9-6 win and evened their all-time record against Quinnipiac at 32-32 over 64 games.
Sacred Heart finished its regular season with a record of 22-29, achieving its third straight season with more than twenty wins and earning its highest ever MAAC Tournament seeding at fourth place. The Pioneers won eight out of ten conference series and ended with a league record of 16-11, supported by strong pitching performances that placed them fourth in team earned run average (ERA) at 3.83.
Key players for Sacred Heart include Sam Kowalski and Elle Leckrone, who were both named to All-MAAC Teams for their performances this year. Kowalski was recognized as a First Team pitcher after finishing second in league ERA (2.09) and third in strikeouts (130), while also maintaining a .396 batting average with eight home runs. Leckrone led her team with sixteen doubles and was named to her second All-MAAC Second Team.
Quinnipiac enters as the fifth seed after losing eight of their last eleven conference games but leads the MAAC offensively with a .308 batting average. Senior Sofia Vega tops her team’s stats with thirty-one runs scored, while Kennedy DeMott leads in slugging percentage and RBIs.
This opening round will be significant as it is the first postseason meeting between these programs since joining the MAAC.
