Jaspers softball seeks revenge against Iona

Last weekend didn’t exactly turn out the way the Manhattan College softball team had hoped. But this week could make for some unforgettable memories if the Jaspers come up big in Buffalo.

After sitting atop the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) softball standings from the start of the season until last weekend, the Jaspers stumbled in dropping a pair of doubleheaders to both Marist and Fairfield, losses that dropped Manhattan into third place and costing it the opportunity to host the MAAC softball tournament. So now, instead of strolling down from campus to Gaelic Park for the postseason, the Jaspers will hop a bus for an eight-hour ride to Buffalo in hopes of coming home with some championship hardware.

It would sure go a long way toward erasing the unpleasant memory of last weekend.

“From day one, we were in first place,” Manhattan softball coach Tom Pardalis said after Sunday’s doubleheader loss at Fairfield. “But it’s just a hiccup. They come up in a season. We just weren’t getting the big hit or making the big play. We had a couple of games late where we were leading where we gave up the leads. It was just one of those things. We’ll be back. We’ll be fine.”

The Jaspers, who finished the regular season with a 25-18 overall record and a 13-7 mark in the MAAC, have little time to dwell on what was and what could have been and instead now shift their focus to what could be as they face old nemesis Iona in the Wednesday, May 6 opening game of the tournament. Pardalis said despite last weekend’s setback, this Jaspers team remains a confident bunch and is looking to bounce back in Buffalo this weekend.

 “Yeah I do,” Pardalis said. “We have great leadership on this team. I’m sure the seniors were not happy about what went on this weekend, so I think we’ll get things straightened out and we’ll head up to Buffalo and do well. I’d rather have our hiccups now than in the playoffs.”