TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University softball team begins its 41st season by competing in the Charleston Southern Tournament this weekend. The Tigers will open their campaign Friday morning against Georgetown at 9 a.m. Towson will also face host Charleston Southern Friday afternoon and concluded the tournament with games against IPFW and Georgetown on Saturday.
 
2015 RECAP: The Tigers finished 35-22 overall, their 13th 30-win season under head coach Lisa Costello. The 35 wins were the most since the 2008 squad won 37 games. Towson qualified for the CAA tournament for the third consecutive season and 11th time under Costello. Seeded fourth, the Tigers dropped games to James Madison (3-2) and Elon (8-6). Towson enjoyed a season-best 10-game winning streak from April 5-15.
 
SEASON-OPENING SMILES: The Tigers have won three straight season-openers and eight of their last nine. Overall, Towson is 27-13 in season opening contests and 14-6 under Costello.
 
POWER DISPLAY: Towson has hit 93 home runs over the last two years, setting school records in 2014 and 2015. Last season, the Tigers belted 49 home runs. They ranked 98th nationally in home runs per game (0.86). Towson was third in the CAA in home runs behind Hofstra (56) and James Madison (55). The Tigers homered in 24 of their 35 victories last season.
 
HAPPY HOLIDAY: Junior Holiday Cahill was selected to the 2015 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division I Softball All-Star First Team. Cahill led the team in batting average (.404), hits (61), RBIs (43), slugging percentage (.762) and on-base percentage (.480). She set the single-season school record for home runs with 13 to help the Tigers set a single-season team record for home runs (49). She was a First-Team All-Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) selection and was named to the 2015 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division I Mid-Atlantic All-Region Second Team. Cahill led the Tigers with 16 multi-hit games, including five three-hit performances (Bucknell, Western Michigan, Elon, Delaware State twice).
 
HEAVY HITTERS: Towson returns four players who hit over .300 last season: Cahill (.404), Brook Miko (.364), Olivia Yarbrough (.356) and Kendyl Scott (.313).
 
DYNAMITE DEJTER: Megan Dejter enjoyed a strong freshman season in which she was ninth in the conference in ERA (3.15). She won nine games and struck out 70 batters in 129 innings pitched. Dejter had 13 complete games. She struck out four or more batters 11 times last season. Dejter had a pair of shutouts in the circle (Saint Francis and UMBC).
 
SEVENTH HEAVEN: Towson was 15-0 when it scored seven or more runs last season. The Tigers scored at least eight runs 12 times. The Tigers enter the season having won 18 consecutive games when scoring at least seven runs. Their last loss when scoring seven runs was an 8-7 extra inning setback to Delaware on April 12, 2014.
 
PALMETO STATE PROUD: The Tigers will play their first 13 games of the season in the state of South Carolina. Following this weekend's tournament, Towson will visit Myrtle Beach (Kickin Chicken Classic Feb. 19-21) and Rock Hill (Winthrop Adidas Classic Feb. 26-28). Towson will also play a weekend series against the College of Charleston the weekend of April 23-24. Overall, Towson will play 29 percent of its games in South Carolina this season.
 
Here's a brief look at the teams Towson will be facing this weekend with their 2015 record in parenthesis:
 
GEORGETOWN (15-32): Members of the Big East Conference, the Hoyas return 10 letterwinners and welcome four newcomers. The Hoyas' leading hitter Hannah Ramsey returns. She hit .316 last season in 32 games. Also returning for Georgetown are Therese Kane (43 hits) and Samantha Giovanniello (42). Towson swept the Hoyas last season in a doubleheader to even the all-time record between the teams in the series at 5-5.
 
CHARLESTON SOUTHERN (31-28): Charleston Southern was picked to finish third in the Big South Conference Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll The Bucs roster features a young, but experienced roster led by senior Natalie Yonan, as well as All-Conference selections Amanda Matsumoto and Cheyenne Gandara, as well as All-Tournament selection Stephanie Bergmann. Towson leads the all-time series between the teams, 7-3. This is the first meeting since 2008 between Towson and Charleston Southern.
 
IPFW (3-45): The Matadons won three games in 2015. Emily Olszewski is the leading returning hitter for IPFW (.245 average). They compete in the Summit League. This is the first meeting in program history between IPFW and Towson.
 
UP NEXT: Towson competes in the Kickin' Chicken Classic hosted by Coastal Carolina. The Tigers will face challenges from Cleveland State, Seton Hall, Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina.