ELON, N.C. – Freshman catcher Shelby Stracher crushed two home runs as the Towson University softball team split a doubleheader against Elon on Saturday afternoon in a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) matchup.
 
The Tigers (14-16, 1-7 CAA) won game one 6-1 before falling to the Phoenix (23-11, 5-3 CAA) by a score of 5-3 in game two.
 
Game One: Towson 6, Elon 1
 
Stracher got the offense going for the Tigers in game one, scoring Towson's first run of the game. She knocked one down the leftfield line for her third home run of the season to put Towson on the board in the second inning.
 
Senior pitcher Missy McCormick would drive in another two runs in the fourth inning, hitting a two-run homer to centerfield. Stracher who had singled to lead off the inning scored on McCormick's home run.
 
The Tigers scored two more runs before the game was over as freshman centerfielder Kendyl Scott brought home fellow freshman third baseman Daria Edwards in the fifth. Freshman Dylan Jarvis, who came in to pinch run, scored in the sixth on a fielder's choice.
 
Towson outhit the Phoenix 9-4 as Stracher and McCormick both had a team-high two hits. Stracher recorded 10 putouts for the game to lead the Tigers' defensive efforts.
 
McCormick (7-5) had a solid performance on the mound for Towson, giving up only one run and four hits over 7.0 innings pitched. She allowed only one walk and struck out 10 batters, tying her season-high.
 
The Phoenix used three pitchers during the game as Kiandra Mitchum (7-6) took the loss. Mitchum gave up three runs and four hits over the first 4.0 innings pitched. Caitlin O'Shea came in on relief action and tallied three runs against and five hits over 2.1 innings. Allie Burdette was Elon's final pitcher of the game as she came in to get the final two outs, striking out one batter over 0.2 innings pitched.
 
Game Two: Elon 5, Towson 3
 
Towson had a strong start to the second game of the day against the Phoenix, scoring two runs in the opening inning. The Tigers used three hits and a throwing error by third baseman Emily Cameron to bring in junior leftfielder Olivia Yarbrough and Stracher.
 
Elon regained the lead in the third inning as the Phoenix scored five runs on three doubles and two errors by sophomore second baseman Caroline Reid and freshman shortstop Brook Miko.
 
The Tigers attempted a rally in the seventh inning, bringing the score within two on Stracher's leadoff homer, her second home run of the day and fourth of the season. Sophomore first baseman Holiday Cahill was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a foul out by McCormick but was ultimately stranded.
 
The Phoenix had seven hits in game two while the Tigers only recorded four. Stracher led the Towson effort with two hits and two RBIs. Cahill had a team-high 10 putouts to lead the Tigers defensively.
 
Freshman Megan Dejter (3-9) took the loss as she pitched the first 2.1 innings. She gave up four runs and four hits over those frames, walking two batters. Fellow freshman Olivia Baltazar came in on relief action and recorded the Tigers' only strikeout of the game.
 
Kayla Caruso started the game for Elon, giving up four hits and three runs while striking out six over 6.0 innings. Chelsea White stepped in for the save and pitched the final frame for the Phoenix.
 
The Tigers and Phoenix will wrap up the weekend series with a single game tomorrow, Sunday, April 5 at 1 p.m.