NEWARK, Del. - Senior third baseman Carlos Alonso, the leading hitter in the Colonial Athletic Association, banged out five hits and hit for the cycle as the University of Delaware (17-14, 2-5) used a 25-hit barrage to outslug the Tigers (10-25, 5-8) and earn a 18-10 CAA victory in the opening game of their three-game weekend series at Bob Hannah Stadium on Friday afternoon.

Alonso, who came into the game with a .458 batting average, went five-for-six and drove in four runs. He had two singles, a double, a triple and belted a first inning home run as the Blue Hens handed Towson its fourth straight CAA loss.

The Blue Hens, who scored five runs in the sixth inning and added five more runs in the eighth, had six doubles, a triple and five home runs. They scored a seasonal high 18 runs and their 25 hits were also a season high.

After senior righthander Brian Rorick retired the Tigers in order in the top of the first inning, Delaware wasted little time grabbing an early lead. Leading off the bottom of the first inning, Alonso blasted his ninth home run of the season to give Delaware a quick 1-0 lead. Freshman second baseman D.J. Long followed Alonso's homer with a single to left field.

The Tigers recorded the first out of the inning when sophomore catcher Brian Wyman made a good play and threw out Long as he tried to steal second base. Wyman's play turned out to be even more important when senior first baseman Ryan Cuneo smashed his fifth homer of the season to give the Blue Hens a 2-0 lead. After Cuneo's homer, freshman righthander Michael Trionfo retired the next two hitters to end the inning.

With one out in the second inning, junior second baseman Chris Wychock cut the Tigers' deficit in half when he blasted his eighth homer of the season over the left centerfield fence, making it a 2-1 game. Freshman leftfielder Kurt Wertz followed Wychock's homer with a single to centerfield. However, Wertz was thrown out trying to steal second base as Rorick pitched out of the jam.

Senior centerfielder Josh Dean opened the bottom of the second inning with a single to rightfield. Moments later, he stole second to move into scoring position. Junior designated hitter Steve Ulaky grounded out to second base for the first out of the inning as Dean advanced to third base. When Trionfo struck out junior catcher Aaron Mascoe, it appeared that he might escape the inning without allowing any runs. However, Alonso gave the Blue Hens a 3-1 lead when he lined an RBI single to centerfield, scoring Dean. Long was retired on a fly ball to left to end the inning.

Junior designated hitter Steve Rice led off the Tigers' half of the third inning with a double down the left field line. After Wyman hit a popup for the first out of the inning, sophomore centerfielder Ben Winter followed with a single to left field and took second base on a throw to the plate that kept Rice from scoring. With runners on second and third and one out, the Tigers pulled to within 3-2 when junior shortstop Nick Natoli hit a sacrifice fly. After senior rightfielder Kevin Collins drew a walk, Rorick pitched out of the jam as senior first baseman Steve Yarsinsky lined out to third base.

With their lead cut to 3-2, the Blue Hens rallied to extend their lead in the bottom of the third inning. Cuneo started the rally when he doubled to left field. Junior leftfielder Pat Dameron followed with another double to left field as Cuneo scored to give the Blue Hens a 4-2 advantage. Trionfo picked up the first out of the inning when he retired freshman Hank Yates on a fly ball to left field. But, junior shortstop Dave Anderson's single chased Dameron to third base, giving the Blue Hens runners on first and third with one out. When Dean drew a walk, the bases were loaded for Ulaky.

Ulaky promptly lined a bases-clearing double to left center field as Delaware increased its lead to 7-2. After Ulaky's double, Trionfo was relieved by sophomore righthander Sean Bertrand. Bertrand pitched out of the inning when he retired Mascoe on a fly ball to centerfield before Alonso lined out to Natoli at shortstop.

After Bertrand pitched out of a jam in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Tigers tried to get back in the game in their half of the fifth inning. Rice led off the inning with an infield single to third base and advanced to second base on a throwing error by Alonso. Rorick retired the next two hitters as he struck out Wyman and got Winter on a fly ball to left field. But Natoli reached base when he was hit by a pitch and the Tigers took advantage.

With two runners on base and two outs, Collins blasted his fourth home run of the season over the rightfield fence to pull the Tigers to within 7-5. Collins' three-run homer ended an 0-for-12 batting slump for the Tigers' top run-producer.

Rorick pitched out of the inning by retiring Yarsinsky on a pop-up to first base,

In their half of the fifth inning, the Blue Hens staged a two-out rally and added another run. After Dean led off with a single, Ulaky hit into a double play. Mascoe kept the inning alive when he singled to third base. Alonso's third hit of the game, a single to right, gave Delaware runners on first and second base. Long stroked a single to rightfield, scoring Mascoe with the Blue Hens' eighth run. However, a great throw by Collins nailed Alonso as he tried to reach third base, retiring the side.

Cuneo led off the sixth inning with his fourth hit of the game, a solo home run to rightfield, upping the Blue Hens' lead to 9-5. It was his sixth homer of the season. With one out, Yates reached on an infield single. Wyman threw out Yates trying to steal second base for the second out. When Bertrand issued a two-out walk to Anderson, he was relieved by senior righthander John Schmeer.

Schmeer walked the first two batters he faced, Dean and Ulaky, loading the bases with two outs. Moments later, Mascoe cleared the bases with a three-run double down the left field line, giving Delaware a 12-5 advantage. After the double by Mascoe, junior righthander Tyler Bugna came in to relieve Schmeer. He surrendered an RBI triple to Alonso as the Blue Hens increased their lead to 13-5. The five-run sixth inning came to an end when Long was retired on a fly ball to centerfield.

In the seventh inning, the Tigers tried to answer the Blue Hens' five-run rally. With one out, Winter tripled to right centerfield. It was his fourth triple of the season. An infield single by Natoli drove in Winter to make it a 13-6 deficit. After Collins was retired on a fly ball to left, Yarsinsky smashed his eighth home run of the season over the left centerfield fence to pull the Tigers to within 13-8.

Yarsinsky's homer enabled him to extend his hitting streak to 23 games. His 23-game hitting streak ties him for the second-longest hitting streak in school history.

Rorick ended the inning when Wychock hit a fly ball to centerfield.

In the eighth inning, Rorick was relieved by junior righthander Nick Young. Wertz, the first batter he faced, drew a leadoff walk. Junior third baseman Austin Harclerode lined out to shortstop for the first out of the inning, Then, Rice blasted the Tigers' fourth home run of the game over the left centerfield fence, pulling Towson to within 13-10.

After pinch hitter Brady Baxter struck out, Winter singled to leftfield. At that point, the game was delayed for 35 minutes due to a fast-moving thunderstorm in the Newark area.

When play resumed, Natoli singled to third base as Winter advanced to second. That brought Collins to the plate, representing the tying run. But, Young worked out of the jam by retiring Collins on a ground ball to second base.

Sophomore righthander Tyler Austin came in to pitch the eighth inning for the Tigers and the Blue Hens jumped all over him. Dean led off the inning with a solo home run, giving the Blue Hens a 14-10 lead. Ulaky kept the rally going when he doubled to left field. A bunt single by Mascoe gave Delaware runners at first and third base. When Austin threw a wild pitch, Ulaky scored to increase the advantage to 15-10.

Needing a double to hit for the cycle, Alonso lined a double down the left field line, driving in Mascoe to make it a 16-10 lead. Austin came back to retire Long on a ground ball to third base and Cuneo on a popup to first base.

Dameron upped the Blue Hens' lead to 18-10 when he blasted his ninth home run over the left centerfield fence. Dameron's two-run homer was Delaware's fifth home run of the game.

After a single by Yates, Austin struck out Anderson to end the inning.

Energized by an 18-10 lead, Young wrapped up the victory by retiring the Tigers without incident in the ninth inning. He struck out Yarsinsky before Wychock reached base when he was hit by a pitch. Wertz lined out before Harclerode struck out to end the game.

Rorick earned his second win of the season for the Blue Hens. He pitched seven innings and gave up eight runs on 11 hits with one walk and five strikeouts. Young gave up two runs on three hits with three strikeouts in two innings of relief.

Trionfo suffered the loss for the Tigers. In 2.1 innings, he allowed seven runs on ten hits. Bugna was the Tigers' most effective relief pitcher as he threw 1.1 innings of scoreless ball.

While Alonso led the Blue Hens with five hits, Cuneo had four hits, including two homers. He scored three runs and had two runs batted in. Dean reached base five times. He went three-for-three with two walks and scored four runs. Dameron added three hits and three RBI's. Mascoe banged out three hits and drove in three runs while Ulaky had two hits and drove in four runs.

The Tigers, who collected 14 hits of their own, were led by Rice, who went three-for-four with a double and a home run. He scored three runs and had two RBI's. Winter, who now has a ten-game hitting streak, went three-for-five in the loss. Natoli had two hits and two RBI's while Wertz also contributed a pair of hits.

The Tigers and the Blue Hens will resume their three-game series on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.