TOWSON, Md. - Junior centerfielder Ben Winter had two hits and scored two runs, including the game-winner in the seventh inning, as the Tigers (9-16-1, 4-6) came from behind to hand Northeastern University (5-17, 1-6) a 4-3 Colonial Athletic Association loss in the opening game of their three-game weekend series at wind-swept John B. Schuerholz Park on Friday afternoon.
The Tigers, who overcame a 3-1 fifth inning deficit, earned their third win in a row.
With the score tied at 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Winter led off with a bloop single down the left field line. Freshman leftfielder Dominic Fratantuono followed with a single to rightfield as Winter advanced to third base. Fratantuono moved to second base when sophomore rightfielder Pete Castoldi made an error. With runners on second and third and no outs, senior righthander Les Williams retired freshman designated hitter Mike Draper on a ground ball back to the mound.
Moments later, senior shortstop Nick Natoli hit a fly ball to rightfield, a sacrifice fly that drove in Winter with the go-ahead run. Williams pitched out of the inning by getting freshman second baseman Pat Fitzgerald to ground out.
After the Tigers took a 4-3 lead, senior righthander Zach Umberger retired six of the seven hitters he faced over the final two innings to nail down the win. Umberger, who entered the game with two outs in the seventh inning, earned his first win of the season by pitching 2.1 innings of scoreless relief. In the eighth inning, he gave up a two-out single to Castoldi. But, he retired the side by getting sophomore catcher John Puttress to ground out to second base.
In the ninth inning, Umberger retired the Huskies in order.
"We did a great job with situational hitting," said Towson Coach Mike Gottlieb. "We only had six hits in the game but we made them count.
"Our pitchers did a great job keeping us in the game and we made some good plays defensively," he added. "This was a good game for us to win."
In the first inning, Northeastern took advantage of freshman righthander Brandon Gonnella's control problems. With one out, junior first baseman Matt Miller drew a walk. After Gonnella fell behind to senior leftfielder Jeff Dunlap in the count, Dunlap lined a single to centerfield. When sophomore designated hitter Jon Leroux lined a double down the leftfield line, Miller scored to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. Gonnella worked his way out of the jam by striking out junior third baseman Jimmy Filter and retiring Castoldi on a ground ball back to the mound.
The Tigers came right back to tie the score in the bottom of the first inning against Williams. Natoli led off and reached base on a throwing error by freshman shortstop Oliver Hart. With one out, senior third baseman Chris Wychock drew a walk to give the Tigers two runners on base. After Natoli stole third base, a sacrifice fly by sophomore catcher Andrew Parker enabled him to score the tying run. With two outs, senior first baseman Austin Harclerode lined a single to rightfield as Wychock advanced to third base.
While pitching to senior rightfielder Steve Rice, Williams threw a pitch in the dirt that got away from Puttress. While Wychock broke from third base, Puttress recovered quickly and threw to Williams. Williams tagged out Wychock trying to score, retiring the side.
After allowing an unearned run in the first inning, Williams settled into a grove. Over the next three innings, he allowed only one hit while shutting out the Tigers.
The Huskies gave Williams a lead in the third inning with the help of a crucial error. Freshman centerfielder Aaron Barbosa led off the inning with a single to leftfield. When Miller singled to centerfield, the Huskies had two runners on base. Dunlap followed with a ground ball to first base that went through Harclerode's legs for an error, allowing Barbosa to score as Miller advanced to third base. When Leroux hit a sacrifice fly to rightfield, Miller scored to give the Huskies a 3-1 lead.
Gonnella worked his way out of the jam by getting Filter to ground out and retiring Castoldi on a soft line drive to shortstop.
Williams protected the 3-1 lead until the bottom of the fifth inning. Winter led off the fifth inning with a double to leftfield. He advanced to third base when Fratantuono hit a dribbler in front of the plate that resulted in an out. After a walk to Draper put runners at the corners, Natoli hit a sacrifice fly that scored Winter to cut the deficit to 3-2. Williams worked his way out of the inning when he picked Draper off first base.
Trailing by 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth, the Tigers rallied again. Fitzgerald led off the inning with a double over Castoldi's head in rightfield. It was the first extra-base hit of his career.
A walk to Wychock put runners on first and second base with no outs. A sacrifice bunt by Parker moved both runners into scoring position. When Harclerode grounded out softly to third base, Fitzgerald scampered home with the tying run. Williams stranded Wychock at third base when he struck out Rice on a 3-2 pitch.
Umberger earned the victory with 2.1 innings of scoreless relief. It was the ninth victory of his career and his first win since May 8, 2009 at Georgia State. He required only 21 pitches and allowed one hit with no walks and no strikeouts.
In the longest outing of his career, Gonnella pitched 6.2 innings and allowed two earned runs on seven hits. He walked two and struck out two.
Williams suffered his fourth loss of the season. In seven innings, he allowed three earned runs on six hits with four walks and six strikeouts.
The Huskies, who outhit the Tigers by an 8-6 margin, were led by Miller, who reached base four times. He was two-for-two with two walks and scored two runs. Leroux was two-for-three and had two runs batted in.
Winter reached base three times with two hits and a walk. Prior to going two-for-two against Northeastern, he had only one hit in his previous 20 at bats.
Natoli went one-for-two with two runs batted in. He drove in a pair of runs on sacrifice flies and scored a run. He also stole two bases and played very well defensively at shortstop.
For the Tigers, it marked the first time this season that they opened a CAA weekend series with a win.
The Tigers and the Huskies will play the second game of their weekend series on Saturday, April 2 at Schuerholz Park at 1:00 p.m. Sophomore righthander Michael Trionfo is scheduled to pitch for Towson while junior lefthander Andrew Leenhouts pitches for Northeastern.
