TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University softball team returns to Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) action when it visits James Madison on Saturday and Sunday at Veteran's Memorial Park. At 22-7 overall, the Tigers are off to their best start in program history.
 
BEST RECORDS AFTER 29 GAMES IN PROGRAM HISTORY
2016                                                    22-7
1989, 1994, 1999, 2010                         21-8
1995, 2009                                           20-9
 
CAA REPORT: Towson (2-1) is a game behind James Madison (3-0) in the CAA standings. The Tigers took two out of three from Hofstra last weekend while the Dukes swept UNCW.
 
SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE: It will be the league's best pitching against the CAA's top offense. The Tigers lead the CAA in batting average (.313), slugging percentage (.539), on-base percentage (.392) and runs scored (184). The Dukes are tops in the CAA in earned run average (1.29), opponents' batting average (.154) and strikeouts (216).
 
LAST TIME OUT FOR TOWSON: The Tigers split a doubleheader against George Mason. They won the opener, 8-0, and dropped the nightcap, 7-0. Kaylen Minnatee, Shelby Stracher and Nicole Stockinger all had two hits for the Tigers in their victory. Minnatee hit her first career homer and Stockinger added her third homer of the season.
 
AGAINST JAMES MADISON: Towson is 22-33 all-time against the Dukes.
 
YES, VIRGINIA: Towson is in the midst of a stretch of playing seven consecutive games against schools from the state of Virginia in a six-day period: George Mason (Wed., Mar. 30), James Madison (Sat. & Sun. April 2& 3) and Norfolk State (Tues. April 5).
 
YARBROUGH KEEPS CLIMBING: With 185 hits, Olivia Yarbrough is tied for ninth all-time in program history. Her 129 runs ranks third in program history. She's fifth in program history with 39 stolen bases.
 
STRANGE, BUT TRUE: Sophomore Kendyl Scott has scored the decisive run in three of Towson's last six games. Scott hit a walkoff homer on March 20 to beat Fordham. She scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth inning on March 27 to clinch an exciting 6-5 win over Hofstra. Finally, on March 30, Scott crossed the plate with the final run on a throwing error in Towson's 8-0 victory. She is tied for second on the team with 22 runs scored.
 
THIEVES IN THE NIGHT: Towson stole six bases against George Mason in an 8-0 victory. It was the sixth time this season that the Tigers have stolen at least four bases in a game. Towson swiped a season-high eight bases against Appalachian State.
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING: Towson is ranked among the top 50 nationally in several offensive categories. The Tigers are ninth in home runs per game (1.34), 14th in slugging percentage (.539), 24th in scoring (6.34), 27th in win-loss percentage (.759), 31st in doubles per game (1.59) and stolen bases per game (1.79). They are 44th in batting average (.313).
 
STRACHER'S SUPERB: Stracher is all over the national rankings for Towson. She leads the country with four sacrifice flies. Stracher is 13th in slugging percentage (.882), 14th in runs batted in per game (1.28), 17th in home runs per game (0.34), total RBI's (37), 21st in home runs (10) and 27th in batting average (.459).
 
BLAKELY'S BALLIN': Freshman Blakely Thrower tossed her first career shutout in the opening game of Towson's doubleheader against George Mason on Wednesday. In lowering her ERA to 1.21, Thrower retired 11 of the final 12 batters she faced. She is 29th nationally in ERA.
 
ABOUT JAMES MADISON: James Madison is ranked seventh in the latest USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll. It's the highest ranking in program history after improving two spots from last week's No. 9 ranking. The Dukes are 25-2 overall after sweeping Virginia in a doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon. The Dukes have held their opponents scoreless through 23 consecutive innings. Megan Good and Jailyn Ford have tossed four shutouts in the last five games while the offense has outscored opponents 8-1. Offensively, the Dukes are hitting .272 as a team. JMU's top hitters are Morgan Tolle (.367), Erica Field (.333), Niki Prince (.304) and Ford (.303). Tolle leads JMU with six homers and 24 RBIs.
 
ON DECK: Towson returns home to host Norfolk State on Tuesday, April 5 for a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.