2nd Seed Saint Joseph's (26-18) vs. 3rd Seed Fordham (36-8)
Atlantic 10 Championship - Opening Round
Thursday, May 13 | 1:00 p.m. | SJU Softball Field
Stream: ESPN+ | Live Stats
A-10 Championship Bracket | A-10 Championship Homepage
 

GAMEDAY LINKS
Saint Joseph's: Roster | Schedule | Stats
Fordham: Roster | Schedule | Stats

THE HAWKS AT THE A-10 CHAMPIONSHIP
All-Time Record At Atlantic 10 Championship: 32-40 (21st appearance)
Atlantic 10 All-Championship Team Selections: 36
2019 Atlantic 10 Championship Result: 2-2 (Advanced To Semifinals)
Coach Brooks At A-10 Championship: 2-2

LEADING OFF
For the first time in program history, Saint Joseph's hosts the Atlantic 10 Softball Championship as the second seeded Hawks welcome top seed George Washington, third seed Fordham and fourth seed Dayton to SJU Softball Field this Thursday, Friday and Saturday, May 13-15. Making its second A-10 Championship appearance under head coach Erin Brooks, Saint Joseph's will face third seed Fordham at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, with the Colonials and Flyers opening tournament play at 11 a.m.

The winners of the two first round games will advance to meet in the semifinals, which will be played Friday, May 14 at noon. The two losing teams from the first round will play in the consolation bracket of the double-elimination tournament. The winner of that game will face the loser of the winner's bracket semifinal. The championship game will be played at noon on Saturday, May 15.

HAWKS CLAIM SECOND SEED IN ATLANTIC 10 CHAMPIONSHIP
Picked fifth in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll, Saint Joseph's proved voters wrong as it capped the regular season with a 19-3 record in conference play to finish in second place overall, and first in the A-10 North Division. The Hawks entered the final weekend of the regular season needing to win three of four games at Fordham, and did just that posting 10-0 (6), 6-0, and 9-1 (6) victories over the Rams

SAINT JOSEPH'S AGAINST THE ATLANTIC 10 CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD
The Hawks enter the Atlantic 10 Championship with a 3-3 record against the tournament field. Saint Joseph's went 3-1 in the final weekend of the regular season at Fordham to capture the A-10's North Division title. The Hawks and George Washington played a nonconference doubleheader on April 17 at SJU Softball Field with the Colonials posting an 8-0 win in five innings in game one and 16-6 victory in six innings in the nightcap. Dayton and Saint Joseph's were not scheduled to play each other during the regular season this year as the conference schedule was split into geographic pods.

HISTORIC HAWKS
The 2021 season has been one for the history books at Hawk Hill as several records have been broken, starting with 19 Atlantic 10 wins, breaking the previous mark of 17 set by the 2013 squad. Graduate student Caela Abadie set new marks for single-season home runs, (14), career home runs (35), and single-season RBI (54), as she passed Sarah Yoos' 2016 single-season record of 13 home runs, topped Christina Kowalski's program mark for career mark of 34 home runs, and bested Danielle Cavone's RBI record of 52 set in 1995. Classmate Sarah Ostaszewski set a new program record for doubles in a career (52), passing Kristen Luciano's mark of 50, while the starting catcher also became just the fourth to reach 200 hits as she enters the A-10 Championship with 213. Additionally, graduate student Molly Kapala enters the A-10 Championship just three hits shy of the 200-hit plateau.

SAINT JOSEPH'S ATLANTIC 10 CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
With a berth in the 2021 Atlantic 10 Championship, the Hawks make their 21st appearance in the conference's postseason and second under head coach Erin Brooks. Brooks helped an underdog Saint Joseph's team advance to the semifinals of the 2019 A-10 Championship, while the 2020 season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Hawks have posted a 32-40 record all time, and advanced to the A-10 title game in 2004, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015. The following is a year-by-year breakdown of Saint Joseph's record at the A-10 Championship.

1993: 1-2
1995: 1-2
1997: 1-2
1998: 1-2
1999: 1-2
2001: 0-2
2002: 0-2
2003: 1-2
2004: 2-2
2005: 0-2
2008: 1-2 
2009: 4-2
2010: 2-2
2011: 3-2
2012: 2-2
2013: 3-2
2014: 2-2
2016: 3-2
2017: 2-2
2019: 2-2

ATLANTIC 1O ALL-CHAMPIONSHIP HAWKS
Saint Joseph's has fared well in its 20 appearances at the Atlantic 10 Tournaments as 27 different Hawks have earned A-10 All-Tournament Team distinctions. Only eight SJU players - Monica Aguilar, Dana Bieniek, Candace Clark, Erin Gallagher, Lauren Hughes, Dana Parks, Dana Travis and Sarah Yoos - have earned the honor multiple times, while two current Hawks have previously been named to an All-Tournament Team.
Player (Years)
Caela Abadie (2019)
Monica Aguilar (2009, 2011)
Ashley Alden (2014)
Teresa Andreani (2001)
Dana Bieniek (2009, 2011)
Candace Clark (1997, 1999)
Jill Clementi (2003)
Cara Deldeo (2004)
Erin Gallagher (2010, 2011, 2012)
Dani Gonzales (2009)
Brandi Harkness (2016)
Lauren Hughes (2004, 2005)
Christina Kowalski (1999)
Amanda Kulp (2016)
Alaina Loguidice (2011)
Linsey McNamara (2003)
Liz Mendez (2013)
Bernadette Moran (2009)
Kristin Nau (2002)
Meghan O'Brien (1993)
Sarah Ostaszewski (2019)
Dana Parks (2012, 2013
Melissa Ruf (2014)
Dana Travis (2003, 2004)
Ashley Ventura (2017)
Cyndi Wilson (2016)
Sarah Yoos (2013, 2016)

FAN INFORMATION
Limited fan attendance will be permitted, based on family and friends of the official travel party. All games of the A-10 Softball Championship will be aired on ESPN+. For watch links, result, photos and more visit Softball Championship Central at atlantic10.com.

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