TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University softball team hosts Hofstra in its seventh and final Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) regular season series at the Tiger Softball Stadium this weekend.
The Tigers (39-13 overall, 12-6) and Pride (35-11, 15-3) play a doubleheader Friday at 12 p.m. followed by a single game on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.
Following Saturday's game, Towson will recognize its senior class of
Olivia Baltazar,
Megan Dejter,
Daria Edwards,
Brook Miko,
Kendyl Scott, and
Shelby Stracher. They have combined to win 134 games during their careers. They have helped Towson enjoy three seasons of at least 35 or more victories and compete in a CAA championship game as sophomores.
Towson. Hofstra, and James Madison have already qualified for the CAA Tournament. The Tigers could finish as high as the No. 2 seed and will be no lower than a No. 3 seed when the CAA tournament commences Wednesday at James Madison's Veterans Memorial Park.
That's the future.
Towson is more concerned with finishing the season strong against the Pride, who lost three games last weekend at James Madison and fell out of the top 25 national rankings. Hofstra is still receiving votes in this week's national polls.
The Tigers lost two out of three last weekend at the College of Charleston, including a tough 1-0 setback on Sunday in the series finale. Scott led Towson's offense with three hits. Four of Towson's last six CAA games have been decided by one run. The Tigers are 3-1 during that stretch.
Towson is 8-1 at home in conference games and 22-3 in its facility this season. The Tigers have won seven straight CAA home games. This season, the Tigers have set single-season school records in 2018 for wins (39), runs (354), hits (472), doubles (96), and total bases (728).
The Pride suffered its first losses in a month last weekend, dropping three close games to James Madison. Hofstra set a new program record in single-season home runs, now with 59, eclipsing the previous record of 57 set in 2016. Senior
Brittany Allocca had a hand in it, slugging a grand slam in the series opener at JMU.
Junior
Courtney Scarpato had a pair of homers in the series, while senior
Brielle Pietrafesa hit one that set the record. Pietrafesa leads the team with 13 home runs on the season, which is tied for fifth in program history.
In 18 CAA games, Hofstra is hitting .374. Pietrafesa has hit .533 in conference games this with 18 extra base hits and a 1.100 slugging percentage. Allocca (.412, eight home runs, 26 RBIs) and Edwards (.400, 20 hits) have had great seasons against CAA competition.
In the circle, Towson will battle against the Pride's duo of Sophie Dandola (14-4, 1.81 earned run average) and Sarah Cornell (21-7, 2.16). Hofstra is 13-5 on the road this season.
Elsewhere in the CAA this weekend, James Madison (37-10, 16-2) visits Drexel (21-26-2, 3-15), UNCW (16-27, 6-12) hosts the College of Charleston (29-22, 8-10), and Elon (24-25, 7-11) travels to Delaware (15-31, 5-13). UNCW, Charleston, Elon, and Delaware are battling for the final two spots in the five-team CAA tournament.
