TOWSON, Md. – On a scale of 1-10, the Towson University softball team's weekend Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) three-game road series at Hofstra is probably closer to or beyond 10 in terms of importance.
Both teams dropped their opening series last week with Towson (11-16 overall, 1-2 CAA) falling to Delaware and Hofstra (10-13, 1-2) losing to James Madison. Each team was swept in doubleheaders and won the single game. The Pride enter with the momentum generated from beating nationally-ranked James Madison and handing ace hurler Megan Good her first loss of the season.
Last season, the Tigers won two out of three from Hofstra at home. For Towson, this visit will finally finish a five-school, 12-game road trip. The Tigers are currently 3-6 on their trek. Even though the Tigers have four regulars wit averages above .300 on this trip, they are hitting just .266 as a team.
Daria Edwards has been hot for the Tigers during the road trip leading Towson with a .343 average and 12 hits.
Brook Miko has been on base consistently as she has a team best .485 on-base percentage. Miko has eight hits along with eight walks.
Kendyl Scott seems to be in the middle of everything for the Tigers. She has a .324 batting average along with eight runs scored and seven RBIs.
Shelby Stracher has found a groove during this road trip as she has compiled a .310 batting average.
In splitting a doubleheader against George Mason on Wednesday,
Olivia Baltazar had three hits over the two games, including a two-run triple that proved to the game-winning RBI in the nightcap of a 3-1 victory.
For the season, Towson has been in the middle of the pack in many CAA team categories. The Tigers are third in home runs (17) and tied for third in triples (four). They are tied for fourth with 35 doubles and 83 walks. Towson is fifth in slugging percentage (.410), runs scored (123), hits (193), RBIs (107), total bases (287) and stolen bases (26).
The Tigers are sixth in batting average (.276) while Hofstra is last in earned run average (5.14).
A Look At Hofstra
Despite outhitting Rutgers, Hofstra Softball dropped a non-conference contest to the Scarlet Knights, 11-5, on Wednesday. Junior
Brielle Pietrafesa hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth for her second straight game with a home run, taking over the team lead with three on the season. Classmate
Kaitlyne Musa went 2-for-4 on the day with a pair of RBIs, while
Nikki Michalowski was 2-for-3 with a double. Hofstra is just 1-3 at home this season. The top hitters for the Pride this season have been Lacey Clark (.344) and Kristin Hallam (.303). The Pride are hitting .242 as a team, which is seventh overall. Sarah Cornell is the Pride's top pitcher with a 9-6 record and a 3.45 earned run average.
Up Next
Towson will finally play a home game Wednesday afternoon when it hosts Georgetown in a single game at 2:30 p.m. The Tigers defeated Georgetown, 2-1, in the USC-Upstate Classic on Feb. 18. Towson will play 16 of its final 22 games at home.
