TOWSON, Md. - Junior righthander Drew Permison pitched out of a ninth inning jam to earn his third save of the season as he combined with three other Tiger pitchers to throw a four-hitter, leading Towson University (16-28, 9-10) to a 5-4 Colonial Athletic Association victory over Hofstra University (15-21-1, 6-7) in the opening game of their three-game weekend series at John B. Schuerholz Park on Friday afternoon.

The victory extended Towson's winning streak to four games in a row while ending Hofstra's unbeaten streak at six games. It was also the Tigers' third consecutive CAA victory, all by one run.

Permison, who pitched 2.1 innings of scoreless relief, ran into major trouble in the top of the ninth inning as he tried to nail down a 5-4 victory. Junior catcher Kevin Flynn led off the ninth inning with an infield single. He hit a hard ground ball back to the mound that caromed off Permison's foot and landed where nobody could make a play. Flynn was replaced at first base by a pinch runner, freshman Peter Magistrale. While pitching to freshman designated hitter Jordan Bredehoeft, Permison tried to pick off the base runner. When one of his throws sailed past first base, Magistrale ran all the way around to third base, giving Hofstra the tying run on third base with nobody out.

With the infield in, Permison retired Bredehoeft on a popup to second base for the first out. However, he walked senior rightfielder Elliot Hagburg on a 3-2 pitch, giving the Pride runners at first and third with one out. Hofstra appeared to have a great opportunity to tie the game with senior second baseman Matt Prokopowicz, the third-leading hitter in the CAA, coming to the plate. But, Permison made his biggest pitch of the game and struck out Prokopowicz on a called third strike on a 3-2 pitch. After Hagburg stole second base, Permison nailed down the victory when he struck out freshman shortstop Matt Ford to end the game.

"If anyone could get out of a jam like that, it's Drew Permison," said Towson Coach Mike Gottlieb. "With a man on third and no outs, it looked like they were going to tie the game. But Drew didn't back down. He went right at them and got out of that mess. Nobody can ever question whether or not he has courage. He is not afraid."

Despite outhitting Hofstra by a 10-4 margin, the Tigers had to hang on for the win because they were 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position and they stranded 11 runners on base.

While Permison teamed up with senior righthander Austin Hurd, sophomore righthander Tyler Austin and senior lefthander Wes Shifflett to throw a four-hitter, Tiger pitchers allowed five walks and hit four batters.

Prokopowicz, who came into the game with a .422 batting average, gave Hofstra a quick start when he led off the game with a home run over the 365-foot sign in right centerfield on Hurd's third pitch of the game. Prokopowicz's fifth homer of the season gave Hofstra a 1-0 lead.

Hurd's first inning troubles continued when he hit the next two batters with pitches, giving Hofstra two runners on base with no outs. With Ford at second base and junior third baseman Mike Walraven at first, Hurd came back and slipped a called third strike by senior first baseman Ethan Paquette. Then, he escaped the jam when senior centerfielder John Kenny lined out to third base. Junior third baseman Austin Harclerode turned the line drive into an inning-ending double play.

In the bottom of the first inning, the Tigers came right back and grabbed a 2-1 lead. With one out, junior shortstop Nick Natoli started the rally when he singled to right centerfield. Senior rightfielder Kevin Collins followed by drawing a walk. When freshman righthander David D'Errico hit senior first baseman Steve Yarsinsky with a pitch, the Tigers had the bases loaded with one out.

Junior second baseman Chris Wychock tied the game at 1-1 when he hit a sacrifice fly to short left field as Natoli slid home just ahead of the throw. Junior designated hitter Steve Rice gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead when he lined a double down the left field line to score Collins. However, Yarsinsky was thrown out at the plate trying to score from first base.

After his rough first inning, Hurd settled down nicely. In the second inning, he issued a two-out walk to Bredehoeft. However, freshman catcher Andrew Parker threw him out as he tried to steal second base. Hurd retired Hofstra in order in both the third and fourth innings.

In the bottom of the third inning, the Tigers had a great chance to break the game open but managed to score only one run. Sophomore centerfielder Ben Winter led off with a single to centerfield and Natoli reached base on an infield single. After Collins struck out, Yarsinsky drew a walk to load the bases with one out. D'Errico got Wychock to hit a ground ball to third base where Walraven threw home to retire Winter on a force play. However, when D'Errico hit Rice with a pitch, Natoli scored to give Towson a 3-1 lead. When Harclerode hit a sharp line drive to right, D'Errico escaped the inning with no further damage.

Leading by 3-1 in the top of the fifth inning, Hurd developed serious control problems, enabling Hofstra to tie the game without the benefit of a base hit. Junior leftfielder Scott A'Hara started the rally by drawing a leadoff walk. After he advanced to second base on a wild pitch, Hurd plunked Flynn with a pitch putting the tying runs on base. Bredehoeft tried to bunt the runners into scoring position but Hurd made an alert play and retired Flynn at second base. With runners at the corners and one out, Bredehoeft and A'Hara pulled off a delayed double steal as A'Hara scored to cut the Pride's deficit to 3-2. After Hurd walked Hagburg, he was relieved by sophomore righthander Tyler Austin.

Austin's first pitch was a wild pitch and both runners moved into scoring position. When Austin hit Prokopowicz with a pitch, the Pride had the bases loaded. A sacrifice fly to right field by Ford tied the game at 3-3. Austin pitched out of the inning when he struck out Walraven to end the inning.

With the scored tied at 3-3, the Tigers rallied to re-take the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. With one out, Yarsinsky singled to left to start the uprising. Wychock followed with a double to left center field as Yarsinsky scored to give Towson a 4-3 advantage. After Wychock's double, D'Errico was relieved by freshman lefthander Joe Burg. Burg retired Rice on a fly ball to left field for the second out. However, Harclerode lined a single to left centerfield, scoring Wychock to give Towson a 5-3 lead.

Harclerode's RBI single enabled him to extend his hitting streak to 16 games.

The Tigers squandered another great scoring opportunity in the sixth inning. Parker led off the inning with a walk and Winter followed with a single. However, the next three hitters were retired to end the inning.

Leading off the seventh inning, Flynn doubled to right centerfield, giving Hofstra its first base hit since Prokopowicz led off the game with a home run. With Flynn on second base, Austin retired Bredehoeft on a fly ball to centerfield and Hagburg on a popup to first base. With Prokopowicz coming to the plate, Coach Gottlieb brought in Shifflett to face the left-handed hitting Prokopowicz.

Gottlieb's strategy backfired when Prokopowicz lined a single to centerfield, scoring Flynn to pull Hofstra to within 5-4. After Shifflett balked, Prokopowicz advanced to second base. Then Shifflett walked Ford to give Hofstra two runners on base with two outs.

At that point, Permison was summoned from the bullpen to make his 21^st appearance of the season. On his second pitch, he retired the side when Walraven popped up to shortstop.

In the eighth inning, Permison retired the Pride in order, striking out two of the three batters he faced,

In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Tigers missed another great opportunity to add to their lead. With one out, Parker doubled to right center field. After Winter was intentionally walked, Natoli grounded softly to shortstop, allowing both runners to move into scoring position. After Collins was walked intentionally, Yarsinsky grounded into a force play to end the inning.

That set the stage for Permison's escape act in the ninth inning.

Prokopowicz and Flynn accounted for all four of Hofstra's base hits. Prokopowicz went two-for-four with a home run and two runs batted in. Flynn had a double and an infield single.

Hurd pitched the first 4.1 innings of the game for the Tigers. He allowed three runs on only one base hit. He walked three batters, hit three others and threw a wild pitch. Hurd also had two strikeouts.

Austin earned his second win of the season by pitching 2.1 innings of relief. He allowed one run on one hit with no walks and two strikeouts. Shifflett faced two batters and gave up a single and a walk.

Permison pitched the final 2.1 innings of relief. He allowed no runs on one infield hit. He walked one and had four strikeouts, including the last two hitters he faced.

Winter and Natoli led the Tigers' ten-hit attack with two hits each. Winter was two-for-four with a walk while Natoli had two hits and scored a pair of runs. Wychock went one-for-three with two RBI's while Rice had a double and drove in two runs.