The Matchup: Towson (0-0, 0-0 CAA) @ Davidson (0-0, 0-0 Atlantic 10)
When: Friday, Feb. 15 – 6 p.m. | Saturday, Feb. 16 – 2 p.m. | Sunday, Feb. 17 – 1 p.m.
Where: Wilson Field – Davidson, N.C.
Online Broadcast: ESPN+ (Saturday and Sunday only)
Series: First Meeting
DAVIDSON, N.C. – The Towson University baseball team is set for the beginning of the 2019 season, playing at Davidson for the first of two consecutive road series to start the year from Feb. 15-17. Game times are set for 6 p.m. on Friday, 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday at Wilson Field, with the final two games being broadcast on ESPN+.
Towson is entering the second season under head coach
Matt Tyner, going 13-42 overall and 6-18 in the CAA last year. Davidson, under first-year head coach Rucker Taylor, who was elevated to the head job after four years as the team's associate head coach, is coming off a 33-21 season, including 14-10 in the Atlantic-10.
Towson and Davidson are playing for the first time ever. Towson is set to play five different schools from the Atlantic-10 while Davidson will not play another Colonial Athletic Association team this year.
Towson Baseball Begins 2019 Season
Towson is set to begin the 2019 season, the second year under head coach
Matt Tyner. The Tigers are coming off a 13-42 season in 2018.
The team will have a new look this year, with 20 newcomers joining 12 returning letterwinners from 2018.
John Schuerholz Headlines First Pitch Dinner
Kicking off the 2019 season, Towson held its second annual First Pitch Dinner on February 2nd, gathering the team, coaches, support staff, department administrators and friends to the Valley Mansion.
John Schuerholz, a Towson alum and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, was the headline speaker for the event, MCed by Jay Rokeach, the PA announcer for the Miami Hurricanes baseball team. Local media personality Keith Mills held a question and answer session with
Richie Palacios and Brady Policelli, former Tigers currently in the minors.
Almost 300 people in total attended the dinner, including Towson President Dr. Kim Schatzel and Athletics Director
Tim Leonard.
Towson Predicted to Finish 9th in the CAA Preseason Poll
In the coaches preseason poll, Towson was predicted to finish ninth in the CAA in 2019. Towson got 13 points in the poll.
Elon is predicted to finish first with 57 points and four first-place votes, followed by a tie for second between UNC Wilmington and Northeastern. Charleston, Delaware, James Madison, William & Mary and Hofstra are the other members of the poll.
CAA Preseason Poll (first place votes, points)
1. Elon (4), 57
t2. UNC Wilmington (1), 54
t2. Northeastern (4), 54
4. Charleston, 47
5. Delaware, 34
6. James Madison, 32
7. William & Mary, 19
8. Hofstra, 14
9. Towson, 13
Towson is Traveling
The Tigers will be traveling quite a bit in 2019 with games scheduled in nine different states, primarily up and down the East Coast.
Along with the home state of Maryland, states Towson will have games in this year includes California, Florida, Georgia, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia.
Coaching Staff Intact for 2019
Head coach
Matt Tyner, in his second year, returns all assistant coaches for the 2019 season.
Miles Miller is back as the team's pitching coach in his second season, as is hitting coach
Tanner Biagini and volunteer assistant
Mickey Williard, the infield coach.
Eric Franc is back, in his ninth season with the program, as the director of player development.
Two former players,
Skyler Morris and
Charlie Watters, will serve as student assistants. Three other students will serve in other roles:
Isabelle Pardew is the director of baseball analytics,
Emma Toth is the student manager and
Jon Wancowicz is the bullpen catcher.
Tyner Approaching 100 Wins
Head coach
Matt Tyner has a chance to reach the 100-win plateau in his career. He currently is at 72 victories, having 12 with Towson and 60 in two years at Bellarmine. He is in his fourth year as a head coach overall and second year at Towson.
Stramara Approaching Pitching Top-10 Marks
Senior pitcher
Dean Stramara is coming close to the top-10 in Towson history in numerous categories.
He stands with 139 career strikeouts, six away from tying for 10th all-time in that category with two former Tigers at 145:
Brandon Gonnella (2011-14) and Derek Hasselhoff (1992-95).
Stramara has pitched in 53 games, seven away from tying for 10th at 60 with Drew Permison (2008-10) and Zach Umberger (2007-11).
Pair of Three-Year Starters Are Back
Two position players returning in 2019 have been primary starters in each of their first three years.
Richard Miller has been the main third baseman for Towson for three seasons, entering 2019 with 136 games played and 116 started, starting at least 27 games each season.
Starting at 104 games mainly at catcher,
Trey Martinez has made at least 29 starts in each of his first three years, playing in 119 games going into 2019.
In addition, senior
Dean Stramara has appeared in 53 games as a pitcher, mainly out of the bullpen.
Tom Flacco Joins the Baseball Team
Tom Flacco, the 2018 CAA Offensive Player of the Year for the football team, will come to the diamond for the baseball team in 2019.
Flacco, a graduate of Rutgers University, was drafted in the 32nd round out of high school in 2014 by the Philadelphia Phillies, electing to attend Western Michigan to play football.
His brother, Michael, played in the minors from 2009-12 after being drafted in the 31st round by the Baltimore Orioles.
Maryland, My Maryland
Towson sports 12 players from the home state of Maryland, coming from all areas of the region.
In addition, two freshmen,
Trent Gast-Woodard and
Nick Brown, each are from the home city of Baltimore. Gast-Woodard and Brown each attended Archbishop Curley.
Time Zones Covered
Towson's roster covers all four time zones in the contiguous United States.
From the Pacific Time Zone comes three players from California: infielders
Colin Conroy and
Brad Powers plus catcher
Jack Rotteveel.
John Cranston, from Scottsdale, Arizona, represents the Mountain Time Zone while Louisiana natives
Travis Dowden and
Nick Canevari represent the Central Time Zone.
1988 Team Inducted into Towson Athletics Hall of Fame
The 1988 Towson baseball team was inducted as a "Team of Distinction" into the Towson Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2018.
The 1988 Tigers were the first Towson men's team to earn a Division I postseason berth after winning the East Coast Conference Tournament.
Under head coach Mike Gottlieb, Towson finished 31-17-1. .645 is still the best winning percentage for a Towson baseball team in a single season, while 17 losses is the fewest amount in a season to date.
Four Towson players earned First Team All-Conference distinction that year: Kevin King (SS), who is in the Towson Athletics Hall of Fame as a player, Chris Nabholz (P), Mike Wlazlak (3B) and Robbie Smith (1B).
Towson Approaching 900th Program Victory
Since the first year of Towson baseball in 1980, Towson has amassed 874 victories as a program, fast approaching 900.
The program has three league titles in 1988, 1991 and 2013 in its history, all coming with appearances in the NCAA regionals.
Scouting Davidson
Davidson, coming off a 33-12 season, is under first-year head coach Rucker Taylor, who previously was the associate head coach under Dick Cooke, who led the program for 28 years.
The team's position player last season was senior Eric Jones, an Atlantic 10 Second Team member last year as a catcher/infielder after hitting .333 with 11 home runs and 60 RBI. Max Bazin, a senior, was the starting shortstop last year, hitting .301 with two homers and 14 RBI.
The top returning starting pitcher for Davidson is Allen Barry, a senior right-hander with an 8-2 record, 3.83 ERA and 75 strikeouts. Classmate righty Josh Hudson was 4-4 on a 6.55 ERA and 34 strikeouts. Also a senior right-hander, Casey Sutherland will move from closer to starter after making 21 appearances in 2018, concluding with six saves and a 2.47 ERA.
About T. Henry Wilson Jr. Field
Wilson Field, built in 1967 and renovated three times from 2001-09, is the home of Davidson baseball. Its capacity is 700 and was given its namesake in 2005 after an alum.
