POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The Marist softball team will open play in the 2019 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship on Thursday. The first-seeded Red Foxes will take on fourth-seeded Iona at 2 p.m. The entire tournament will take place at Gartland Field.

Here is a closer look at the championship:                                            

• Marist is the #1 seed in this year's MAAC Softball Championship.
• The Red Foxes are 33-20 overall and went 16-4 in conference play this season.  

• The Red Foxes split the season series with the Gaels 1-1.
• Marist lost game one 5-3. Sophomore Caroline Baratta and red-shirt junior Claire Oberdorf both homered in the loss. Senior Meghan Beiermeister tossed 5.1 innings and struck out three.
• The Red Foxes won game two 1-0. Freshman Calista Phippen tossed a three-hit shutout and struck out eight. The game's lone run came when Baratta stole home on a double steal in the bottom of the first.

• Marist has won three MAAC championships in its history: 2006, 2013, and 2016.
• Last season, Marist placed sixth in the conference tournament.
• Marist has qualified for the conference tournament for four straight seasons, and eight of the last nine.

• Every game on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday will be carried live on ESPN+.
• Live stats will be available and you can follow @MaristSoftball on Twitter for live updates.
• The championship's award show will be broadcast live on MAAC.TV starting on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.                                             

• Five of the six teams in this year's tournament made last year's tournament (Monmouth, Fairfield, Siena, Iona, Marist). Niagara is the newcomer in the field.
• The Red Foxes went 7-3 against the tournament field this season.
• The championship uses a double-elimination format.