TOWSON, Md. ? Sophomore rightfielder Austin Harclerode threw out the tying run at home plate in the top of the ninth inning as the Tigers (22-20) earned their fifth victory in their last six games with a 10-9 non-conference win over Delaware State University (18-19-1) at John B. Schuerholz Park on Wednesday afternoon.

For the Tigers, who overcame a 3-0 deficit to win, the victory was their ninth win in 12 one-run games this season. Towson is now 13-6 in game decided by two runs or less.

With the Tigers clinging to a 10-8 lead in the ninth inning, senior Ryne Mailen led off the inning with a triple to right center field off senior righthander Josh Squatrito, the Tigers' ace closer. When senior catcher Wynton Weather lined a single to right on the next pitch, the Hornets had trimmed their deficit to 10-9 with no outs.

After senior Ross Babineaux entered the game as a pinch runner for Weather, a sacrifice bunt by senior Jared Lineweaver moved him into scoring position at second base. With Babineaux on second base, junior rightfielder Mike Rizzuto lined a single to rightfield where Harclerode fielded the ball. He made a perfect one-hop throw to junior catcher Max Kelly, who tagged out Babineaux trying to score. Then, Squatrito nailed down the victory by striking out senior shortstop Jose Sanchez as he earned his sixth save of the season.

“Austin Harclerode and Max Kelly made a great play in the ninth inning,” said Towson Coach Mike Gottlieb. “The throw was perfect and Max had the plate blocked. Their base runner must have been out by ten feet. We really needed a play like that to win this one.”

The dramatic finish ended a wild game in which both teams staged comebacks. The Tigers used a six-run sixth inning to take a 7-3 lead before the Hornets rallied for three in the seventh.

Making his third start of the season, freshman lefthander Ben Winter battled control problems from his first pitch of the game. In the top of the first, he walked Rizzuto, the Hornets' leadoff hitter.  One out later, Winter walked junior first baseman Abe Eubank to give the Hornets two base runners. When senior second baseman Justin Bittner lined a single to rightfield, Rizzuto scored to give the Hornets a 1-0 lead. After the RBI single, Winter pitched out of the inning by retiring the next two hitters.

In the second inning, Winter walked the leadoff hitter again as Mailen drew a free pass. A line drive single to center by Weather moved Mailen to second base with no outs. After Winter retired centerfielder Jim Johnson on a popup, Rizzuto bunted for a single to third base, loading the bases with one out. Mailen scored to make it a 2-0 lead when Sanchez hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield. But, Winter pitched out of the inning when he retired Eubank on a fly ball to right.

When Winter walked Bittner to lead off the third inning, he was relieved by sophomore righthander Charlie Cononie, who retired the side without any more damage.

While Winter was struggling with his control, senior righthander Josh Schmidt breezed through the first three innings, shutting out Towson on just one hit. Schmidt retired the first eight hitters he faced before Winter singled with two outs in the third.

In the fourth inning, the Hornets took advantage of an error by sophomore second baseman Chris Wychock to add to their lead. After Mailen led off the inning by reaching on the error, Weather hit into a force play. When Cononie walked Johnson, the Hornets had two runners on base. Cononie struck out Rizzuto for the second out of the inning. But he loaded the bases when he hit Sanchez with a pitch. Eubank gave the Hornets a 3-0 advantage when he hit an infield single to deep shortstop. But Cononie pitched out of trouble by retiring Bittner on a ground ball to second base.

Schmidt, who allowed only two hits in four shutout innings of work, left the game in the fifth with a 3-0 lead. He was relieved by sophomore righthander Bryan Perkins, who promptly issued back-to-back walks to senior leftfielder Aaron Gabrielian and Harclerode.

After pitching to only two batters, Perkins was relieved by senior righthander Mike Ingram. On a hit-and-run play, Kelly hit a ground ball right to third baseman C.J. Bell, who was moving to cover third base. Bell turned the grounder into a double play. After walks to Winter and senior shortstop Gary Helmick, the Tigers had the bases loaded with two outs. An infield single by junior centerfielder Kevin Collins drove in the Tigers' first run, cutting their deficit to 3-1. But, the inning ended when junior third baseman Steve Yarsinsky was retired on a fly ball to centerfield.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Tigers erupted for six runs as they grabbed a 7-3 lead. Senior first baseman Matt Collins led off the frame with his second double of the game, a shot to right centerfield. At that point, senior righthander Anthony Gibbons came in to pitch, relieving Ingram.

Wychock greeted him by blasting his first pitch over the leftfield fence for his 11^th home run of the season, a two-run blast that tied the game at 3-3. With one out, Harclerode kept the inning alive with a double down the left field line. After Kelly reached on an error to put runners at first and third, senior Jason Stifler lined a pinch hit double into the left field corner to drive in Harclerode with the go-ahead run. Then, Helmick capped off the inning by launching his 15^th home run of the season, a three-run blast, over the left field fence, giving Towson a 7-3 lead.

Trailing for the first time in the game, Delaware State responded immediately. Sanchez was hit by a pitch to lead off the seventh inning. After Eubank struck out, Bittner singled to center, giving the Hornets two runners on base. Then, sophomore Jose Portela lifted a three-run homer down the left field line to cut the lead to 7-6. It was only his second homer of the season.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Tigers added to their lead with a pair of runs. Wychock started the rally with a single to left field. After he stole second base, Harclerode delivered an RBI single to centerfield, increasing the Tigers' lead to 8-6. After a walk to Kelly, Stifler reached on an error by third baseman Brandon Crist as Harclerode scored to make it a 9-6 advantage.

In the eighth inning, the Hornets came right back to score a pair of runs and cut their deficit to 9-8. Lineweaver led off the inning by drawing a walk. When Rizzuto was hit by a pitch, Delaware State had two runners on base with no outs. An RBI single to right allowed Lineweaver to score, making it a 9-7 lead. An error by Yarsinsky enabled Rizzuto to score and cut the lead to 9-8. However, sophomore relief pitcher Spencer Patton regrouped at that point. After striking out Bittner, he retired Portela on a ground ball to third base. Then, he struck out Crist to end the threat.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Tigers added an insurance run that turned out to be the game-winning run. Kevin Collins led off the inning by placing a perfect bunt down the third base line. When Crist made a desperate attempt to throw him out at first base, his throw sailed down the rightfield line as Collins made it all the way to third. After Yarsinsky grounded out, Matt Collins lined his third double of the game to centerfield, scoring his brother to make it a 10-8 lead.

The Tigers, who outhit the Hornets by a 12-11 margin, were led by Matt Collins, who was 3-for-5 with one RBI. All three of his hits were doubles as he raised his batting average to .393. He now has 19 doubles to lead the team.

The Tigers' defensive hero, Harclerode was 2-for-3 with a walk and three runs scored. Wychock added two hits and had two RBI's while Helmick, the second-leading hitter in the Colonial Athletic Association, was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer. Helmick, who has hit safely in 39 of 42 games for the Tigers this season, is riding a 12-game hitting streak.

Kevin Collins also had two hits in the victory.

Rizzuto had two hits and scored two runs for the Hornets while Bittner, Mailen and Weather also had a pair of his.

Cononie, one of five Tiger pitchers who were used in the game, earned his second win of the season. He pitched 4.1 innings and allowed three earned runs on three hits. He only walked one batter and had a career high seven strikeouts.

With the victory, the Tigers swept the season series from Delaware State as they won a pair of one-run games. On March 10, Towson edged Delaware State in Dover, 8-7.

The Tigers return to action this weekend when they visit Hofstra University for a three-game Colonial Athletic Association series. Towson and Hofstra play the series opener on Friday at 3:00 p.m.