NEW ORLEANS, La. - Senior leftfielder Aaron Gabrielian hit two home runs and drove in three runs as the Tigers (1-3) overcame a 3-0 first inning deficit to hand the University of New Orleans (3-1) a 9-5 loss in the final game of their four-game weekend series at Maestri Park on Sunday afternoon.
With the score tied at 5-5 in the seventh inning, the Tigers rallied to take a lead. After freshman rightfielder Ben Winter drew a leadoff walk, senior second baseman Gary Helmick lined a triple to right centerfield as Winter scored from first base, giving the Tigers a 6-5 lead. When junior centerfielder Kevin Collins followed with an RBI single to right, Towson had a 7-5 advantage.
In the eighth inning, the Tigers added a pair of insurance runs when sophomore Chris Wychock reached on an infield error. Then, Gabrielian lined his second home run of the game over the rightfield fence, giving Towson a 9-5 lead.
That was all the offensive support that freshman righthander Sean Bertrand needed to earn a win in his first collegiate appearance. Bertrand, who pitched at North County High School last season, threw four shutout innings to lead the Tigers to the win. He allowed only two hits and walked two batters while striking out four. He retired the Privateers in order in the seventh and the ninth innings.
“Sean pitched very well for us and we needed that,” said Coach Mike Gottlieb. “He looked very composed out there and he threw strikes. He was very effective with his curve ball and that also helped him. After losing the first three games down here, it was great to win this one. New Orleans is a baseball program with an excellent reputation. So, getting a win down here helps us feel better about ourselves.”
The Privateers, who won the first three games of the weekend series by a total of six runs, grabbed an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as junior righthander John Schmeer struggled with his control. Shortstop Tyrone Wethers led off by drawing a walk on a 3-2 pitch. When centerfielder Ryan Eden reached on an infield single and second baseman Nick Schwaner drew a walk, New Orleans had the bases loaded with no outs.
A wild pitch by Schmeer allowed Wethers to score, giving New Orleans a 1-0 lead. However, Schmeer regrouped and struck out the next two batters. He almost escaped the inning without any further damage but first baseman Nick Mitchell lined a two-run single to right centerfield, putting New Orleans ahead, 3-0.
In the top of the third inning, the Tigers took advantage of some defensive problems to score five runs and take a 5-3 lead. After Towson went down in order in the first two innings, Gabrielian got the Tigers on the scoreboard when he led off the third inning with a home run to rightfield. Sophomore Steve Freinberg followed with a single up the middle and advanced to second base on a single by Helmick. Freinberg scored on a double to left by Kevin Collins, cutting the deficit to 3-2. When senior Matt Collins reached on an error by pitcher Joe Zimmerman, Helmick scored the tying run. The Tigers took a 4-3 lead when senior catcher grounded out to shortstop as Kevin Collins scored. Matt Collins scored the Tigers' fifth run when junior third baseman Steve Yarsinsky reached on an error.
After giving up three runs in the first inning, Schmeer shut down the Privateers until the fifth inning when they scored twice to tie the game. An RBI single by Jay Morris and a sacrifice fly by Tyler Sanford enabled the Privateers to even the contest at 5-5.
The Privateers, who outhit the Tigers by a 12-11 margin, left nine runners on base as they lost their first game of the season.
Gabrielian, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI's, now leads the Tigers with three home runs. In the 2008 season, he only homered once all year.
“It seems like Aaron has figured some things out,” said Gottlieb. “He has made some adjustments and we're hoping he can keep hitting like this all season.”
Helmick, who batted .400 during the weekend series, also had a pair of hits for the Tigers while Kevin Collins had a pair of hits and two RBI's.
TIGER TIDBITS: In his first weekend as the Tigers' shortstop in place of the injured Nick Natoli, Wychock did very well ... He made only two errors in 22 fielding chances and took part in three double plays ... Wychock batted .375 in the series and scored a team-leading seven runs ... As a team, the Tigers batted .318 and scored 31 runs in four games ... They also had a .971 fielding percentage.
The Tigers went into the weekend series at New Orleans extremely short-handed ... In addition to losing three players to season-ending injuries (Duane Herr, Sean Thompson and Natoli), the Tigers will be without outfielder Steve Rice for the first month of the year ... Sophomore outfielder Austin Harclerode, a CAA All-Rookie selection in 2008, missed the New Orleans series with a hamstring injury while junior lefthander Wes Shifflett was sidelined with a slight arm problem ... Harclerode and Shifflett are expected to return next weekend.
The Tigers resume their season next weekend when they travel to the Florida Gulf Coast Tournament.
