Softball Releases 2021 Schedule; Opens Campaign March 20
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) softball team unveiled a 28-game slate for 2021 returning to the diamond after over a year layoff, seeing their strong start to the 2020 season halted by COVID-19. Under the direction of fifth-year head coach Danielle Fazzolare, the Bears will open their season the weekend of March 20 and 21 against reigning Skyline Conference champions Farmingdale State College.
The Bears will play a conference-only schedule with eight teams playing a round-robin schedule that begins on March 20th. In the modified format, the league will be contested over seven weekends. Each weekend with feature a four-game series with teams alternating hosting a doubleheader each day. Only the first three games of the series will count toward the league standings; forming a 21-game conference schedule.
Following the season opener against the seven-time champion Rams, the Bears square off with SUNY College at Old Westbury (March 27-28) before the conference pauses for Easter and Passover.
The navy and gray resume in April with meetings against Mount Saint Mary College (April 10-11), Purchase College (April 17-18), and the College of Mount Saint Vincent (April 24-25).
SJC Brooklyn opens the final month of the season with 2019 runner-up and sibling rivals SJC Long Island (May 1-2), concluding the regular season on Mothers' Day weekend against league newcomer Manhattanville (May 8-9) — last year's preseason favorite who received votes in the first NFCA Top 25 poll of this season.
The Bears returns three All-Skyline selections from 2019 — Jessica Mecham, Alexis Buchanan, and reigning Skyline Player of the Year Ashleigh Hartwig. St. Joseph's seeks their third straight appearance to the Skyline Softball Championship as the top four teams will vie for the 2021 title on May 14-16 and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
In accordance with restrictions and guidelines issued by the Skyline Conference and New York State, St. Joseph's College and all Skyline member institutions will not permit spectators at any site of competition at this time. Read a statement from Skyline Commissioner Linda Bruno here.
Video will be available for all SJC-designated home games and web streamed live on www.sjcbears.com. Links to video and live stats for designated road games, when available, can also be found on the schedule page on our website. Follow us on social media (@sjcbears and @sjcbears_softball) for the latest updates throughout the season.