DOVER, Del. - The Tigers used a strong all-around game to sweep a doubleheader from Delaware State on Thursday afternoon. Towson (28-15) earned a 3-0 win in the opener before taking the nightcap by a 1-0 margin.
"I thought we played very well today," said Coach Lisa Costello. "We got some timely hits, played very strong defense and got some great pitching."
The Tigers jumped on the Delaware State pitching staff early with a pair of runs in the top of the first in game-one. Kim Lempa had a one-out single and stole second base. Sammi DiPompo followed with a single that moved Lempa to third and stole second. The Hornets got the second out of the inning before a walk loaded the bases. Joyce Delp then singled through the right side to score Lempa and DiPompo.
The Hornets looked to have something going in the bottom of the fourth as a pair of walks and a Tiger error allowed them to load the bases. However Shannon Johnston got a pop-up for the third out of the inning.
Towson would add another run in the top of the sixth. Courtney Wittner reached on an error leading off and Kelli Lyons went in to run. Erika Stasch sacrificed Lyons to second and a groundout moved her to third. DiPompo then laced a two-out single back up the middle to score Lyons.
The Hornets had one more chance in the bottom of the seventh. Casey Beighly reached on a leadoff single and Courtney Taylor went in to run. Taylor moved to second on Rachel Carroll's single but when she tried to take third she was thrown out on the play. Johnston got the final two Delaware State batters out to secure the victory.
Johnston earned her eighth win of the season with the complete game performance. She gave up just five hits and struck out one. Beighly was the first of three Hornet pitchers to work in the game and she took the loss. She allowed two runs on six hits.
DiPompo was 3-for-3 at the plate with a run scored and an RBI. Lempa had two hits and a run scored while Delp had one hit and two RBIs. Carroll finished with two hits for Delaware State.
Game-two started as a pitcher's duel between Towson's Dominique Ortega and Delaware State's Amber Coburn. The two combined to not allow a run through the first four innings.
In the top of the fifth, Jillian Donnelly led off with a walk. She advanced to third as Lindsey Kent laid down a sacrifice bunt and a Hornet error allowed Kent to be safe. After the Hornets got the first out of the inning, Andrea Stevenson came through with an RBI groundout to score Donnelly.
Ortega twirled her fourth shutout of the season to earn her eighth win of the year. She allowed just three hits and struck out three. Brittany Ruark took the loss in relief for the Hornets. She allowed one run in three innings on two hits.
Stef Streets led the Tigers with two hits and helped her team to the sweep. Streets' older sister Laura is one of the assistant coaches for Delaware State. Donnelly scored the only run of the game and had a hit.
Towson returns to CAA play this weekend when it travels to James Madison. The Tigers and Dukes will play a doubleheader on Saturday, April 24 at 12 p.m.
-- TIGERS --
