TOWSON, Md. – Focused and confident, the Towson University softball team begins its quest for a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) championship when it opens tournament play against Hofstra at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Veterans Memorial Park in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
The Tigers (40-15) and Pride (37-12) are playing each other for the fourth consecutive time since they ended the regular season with a three-game series. Hofstra won two of three games last weekend at Towson.
Towson is making its 13th appearance overall in the CAA Tournament and first since 2016. The Tigers have advanced to the championship game six times. This will be the 13th all-time meeting between Towson and Hofstra in the CAA Tournament. The Tigers won the most recent matchup, 5-4, in 2014.
Seniors
Brook Miko and
Shelby Stracher combined for seven of Towson's 10 hits off of Hofstra pitching last weekend. They also accounted for all of Towson's scoring. Miko had a pair of two-run homers, one in Friday's opening game and another in Saturday's regular season finale. Stracher's two-run homer in Friday's game was the winning difference in a 4-3 triumph.
Towson is 10-0 on neutral fields this season. The last time Hofstra's expected starting pitchers of Sarah Cornell and Sophie Dandola pitched at JMU, they combined to allow 13 home runs over three games.
The Tigers have enjoyed a regular season like no other. However, they have treated the single-season records that they established in wins (40), runs (360), hits (482), doubles (96), and total bases (747) with restrained satisfaction.
Towson enters the CAA Tournament ranked second nationally in doubles per game (1.75), third in batting average (.336), fifth in scoring (6.55), seventh in on-base percentage (.409), and eighth in slugging percentage (.520).
Miko leads the nation in RBIs (72) and RBIs per game (1.31). She also is fourth in doubles (22), 12th in sacrifice flies (five), and 17th in runs per game (1.04). Miko leads the CAA in all five categories. In addition, Miko is eighth in doubles per game (0.40), 12th in hits (72) and 14th in total bases (132).
Kendyl Scott, who was named the Towson Female Athlete of the Year Monday night, is second in the NCAA in hits (84), fourth in batting average (.472), fifth in total bases (137), and 10th toughest to strikeout (35.6). Those marks are also CAA-leading marks for Scott. In addition, Scott is sixth in doubles (21), ninth in doubles per game (0.40), 30th in slugging percentage (.770), and 41st in on-base percentage (.505).
Senior
Megan Dejter is 22nd nationally with 22 wins. Sophomore
Madison Wilson is 29th in doubles (16), 34th in hits (67), and 49th in doubles per game (0.31). Junior
Nicole Stockinger is 48th in home runs (13).
While those numbers are nice, Towson has its eyes set on the CAA prize and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. That's all that matters this week.
Meanwhile, creating headaches last weekend for the Tiger pitching staff were Kaitlyne Musa, Stephanie Edwards, Brittney Alloca, Courtney Scarpato and Kristin Hallam. They combined for 22 of Hofstra's 25 hits. Scarpato's three-run homer was the difference in Hofstra's 4-2 win on Saturday. Cornell had 14 strikeouts in two starts against the Tigers.
The winner of this game advances to Thursday's semifinal round where it play at noon against the winner of the James Madison-Charleston-UNCW contest that will take place after the TU-Hofstra game on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, the loser of the TU-Hofstra game will have to navigate the scenic route to a championship through the loser's bracket beginning with a 6:30 p.m. elimination game against either Charleston or UNCW Wednesday night.
