Riverdale, NY (January 11, 2005)- Four NCAA Tournament teams highlight the 2005 Manhattan College Softball schedule, it was announced today by second-year head coach Jennifer Fisher. Manhattan will play at least 53 regular season games, with 14 home games played over seven home dates.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL SCHEDULE"We are very excited about our schedule for the upcoming season," commented Fisher. "Playing NCAA Tournament teams like Florida International and Hofstra as part of our non-conference schedule will help prepare us for the always tough MAAC Conference games."
The Lady Jaspers will open the 2005 campaign by playing in two tournaments, the GW Colonial Challenge in Washington, DC, and the FIU Tournament in Miami, FL. NCAA Tournament participant Florida Atlantic is among the FIU Tournament field.
Following the two tournaments that open the season, the Jaspers play at defending Big East champ and NCAA Tournament participant Seton Hall on March 8th before returning to Riverdale to play their home opener against Yale on Saturday, March 19. Following the Yale game, Manhattan returns to the road to take on Drexel, Hofstra, Stony Brook, Fairleigh Dickinson, and La Salle before coming home to open up MAAC play against Saint Peter's on April 2. Hofstra advanced to within one win of the Softball College World Series last season.
Other teams that will come to Gaelic Park for non-conference games are Saint Joseph's and Wagner. The Jaspers will host MAAC series with Rider, Marist, and Siena, as well as traveling to Buffalo, NY to take on defending MAAC Champion and NCAA Tournament participant Canisius.
The MAAC Championships will be held May 13-15 at De Luca Field in Stratford, CT and will be hosted by Fairfield University.
The Lady Jaspers completed their 2004 season with a 16-33 overall record, and a 9-7 MAAC slate, advancing to the MAAC Championships for the first time since 1999. The nine MAAC wins were the most since the 1994 season and the team's first winning conference record since 1995.
