TOWSON ATHLETICS:
The Series: Towson Tigers (13-14, 4-5 CAA) vs. Morgan State Lady Bears (15-12, 6-0 MEAC)
Where: Tiger Softball Stadium – Towson, Md.
When: Wednesday, March 29 – 2/4:30 p.m.
Broadcast: Live stream on FloSports, Live stats at TowsonTigers.com
TOWSON, Md. – Towson softball will return to Tiger Softball Stadium for a five-game home stand that starts with a double header against Morgan State on Wednesday. The Tigers come back home after going 1-5 last week, coming off a 1-2 series loss to Elon this past weekend.
The Tigers dominated the Phoenix in game one of the series in a 2-0 win. Maddie Gardner pitched a complete game shutout, scattering three hits with four strikeouts. Towson led for most of game two before a three-run inning in the sixth lifted the Phoenix past Towson. Elon would go on to take the series with a game three win to drop Towson to 13-14, 4-5 CAA.
Towson and Morgan State have met 20 times prior to the Wednesday matchup with the Tigers leading the all-time series 19-1. Last year the two split the season series.
SCOUTING THE LADY BEARS:
Morgan State comes into the mid-week matchup at 15-11, 6-0 MEAC on the year and are currently on a six-game win streak after a conference weekend sweep of Norfolk State. The Lady Bears gave up just two runs over the three games that included Morgan State throwing a no-hitter. Victoria Fletcher leads the Lady Bears batting .347 with a team-best 25 hits, six home runs and 25 RBIs. Nia Lewis is the only other player over .300, batting .315 in 20 games. In the circle, Anaya Hunte leads the pitching staff with a 1.97 ERA with four shutouts, nine complete games and 75 strikeouts. She has already thrown a perfect game and no-hitter in 2023.
TIGERS HONORED:
Three different Tigers have earned CAA weekly awards so far in the 2023 season. Maddie Gardner was named pitcher of the week back on February 21 while Addie Ferguson was named rookie of the week the following week. Most recently, Madyson Peters was named player of the week on March 20 after leading Towson to their first CAA series sweep since 2019.
Towson is the only team so far this season to have at least one player win all three awards.
NEWCOMERS:
Towson will have 10 newcomers suit up in the Black and Gold for the 2023 season. Eight of the ten newcomers are freshman who will be making their collegiate debuts, joining a pair of DI transfers in Erin Brown (Thousand Oak, Calif./La Reina/St. John’s) and Maddie Gardner (Sun Prairie, Wisc./Sun Prairie/South Florida).
Brown comes to Towson from St. John’s University where she made 46 appearances in the circle with 25 starts throwing 173.2 innings. She amassed an 11-20 record with nine complete games, three shutouts and two saves. Her best season came during the Covid shortened 2020 campaign, going 5-6 with a 2.95 ERA in 61.2 innings.
Gardner made six appearances in two seasons for USF in the circle. She sported a 1-0 record in five appearances in 2021, picking up a victory against Florida Atlantic in 2.0 innings of relief.
Alyssa Myint, Nadia Martyniuk, Cheyenne Beayon, Isabella Canesi, Cara Bohner, Addie Ferguson, Kellie Zoerb and Grace Franczyk will also suit up for the Tigers in 2023.
NEW LOOK PITCHING STAFF:
Towson returns just two pitchers who saw action in the 2022 season in Paige Kostick and Sydni Byers. Kostick saw action in seven games with four starts, tossing 28.1 innings with 11 strikeouts. Byers appeared in five games out of the bullpen. Also returning for the Tigers will be Morgan Wagner who missed the 2022 season due to an injury.
Three newcomers will join the pitching staff in freshman Cheyenne Beayon and transfers Erin Brown and Maddie Gardner. Beayon comes to Towson from Mount De Sales with Brown and Gardner transferring from St. John’s University and University of South Florida. Brown made 46 career appearances for the Red Storm with nine complete games. Gardner made six appearances in her two seasons with the Bulls.
OFFENSIVE DEPTH:
The Tigers return four of their top five hitters from 2022, including offensive leader Briana Ramirez. Ramirez led Towson with a .379 batting average and a .434 slugging percentage a year ago. Ramirez finished second in the CAA in batting and will enter 2023 as the top returning hitter from a year ago while also finishing third in hits with 55 in 2022.
Mackenzie Lake, Sydni Byers, and Madyson Peters also return to help a Towson offense that hit .252 from the plate in 2022. Lake finished the year with a .303 batting average, leading the team with seven doubles and five home runs. Byers hit .256 tying Lake with seven doubles and team-best 25 RBIs. Peters went .245 from the dish with 27 hits and six doubles.
NEXT GAME:
Towson will conclude their home stand with a three-game set against Drexel this weekend, April 1-2. The two will play a double header on Saturday at noon with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m. on FloSports.
