TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University baseball team will wrap up an eight-game homestand this weekend with its second-straight CAA series at Schuerholz Park, taking on William & Mary from April 26-28 for three contests: 3 p.m. on Friday, 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
 
All games at Schuerholz Park are free admittance.  The game will be broadcast on the Towson Sports Network.
 
Towson, coming off an 8-7 win over UMBC on Tuesday, has won its last two CAA series over Hofstra and Delaware to tie for fourth place in the league at 5-7, holding an 11-29 overall record.  William & Mary, which split in its mid-week games with a win at George Mason and a loss at Richmond, is in eighth place in the CAA, coming into the weekend at 5-10 in-conference and 23-18 overall.
 
 Since 2015, the series between these two programs have seen W&M win two games and Towson take one, with the Tigers winning the last contest 6-1 on April 8, 2018.  Playing nearly every year since 2001, William & Mary leads the all-time series 35-20.
 
Freshman Leading the Way
Javon Fields, a true freshman, has proven to be a top tier newcomer, currently leading Towson in several categories including hits (44), doubles (9), triples (4) and stolen bases (13).  He had a 14-game bases reached streak snapped on March 30.
 
Repine - CAA Rookie of the Week
Dallas Repine's near no-hit bid earned him CAA Rookie of the Week on April 22nd.  He had seven no-hit innings in a victory over UMBC on April 16th.
 
When There is a Will, There is a Weyman
Gavin Weyman has been a rock as the Saturday starter in his last two appearances, going 3-0 with four earned run in 21 innings (1.71 ERA) in victories over Elon, Hofstra and Delaware, striking out 16 batters in that time.
 
Towson is Traveling
The Tigers will be traveling quite a bit in 2019 with games scheduled in 10 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, Virginia and West Virginia.
 
John Schuerholz Headlines First Pitch Dinner
Kicking off the 2019 season, Towson held its second annual First Pitch Dinner on February 2nd, at 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.
 
Seils Earns CAA Pitcher of the Week
Josh Seils earned his first-ever CAA Pitcher of the Week honor on March 18th.  His award came after a stellar start vs. Fordham, picking up the win with eight scoreless innings and six strikeouts.
 
Stramara Named to NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List
Senior Dean Stramara is one of 75 players nationally to be selected to the 2019 NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List.
 
In 2018, he had the best ERA for Towson at 3.94 in 21 appearances, striking out 48 batters in 59.1 innings.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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
 
Tom Flacco Joins the Baseball Team
Tom Flacco, the 2018 CAA Offensive Player of the Year for the Towson football team, comes 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.
 
Scouting William & Mary
William & Mary, picked to finish seventh in the CAA this season, has fallen in its last three conference series for a combined 1-8 in those games.
 
Standing second in the CAA with 10 home runs, senior catcher Hunter Smith is hitting .295 with 10 doubles and a team-best 32 RBI.  Classmate Zach Pearson, in the infield, leads W&M in batting average at .324 and doubles with 12, holding 27 RBI.  One other person has 10 doubles: sophomore infielder Matt McDermott bats .222 with 25 RBI.
 
The likely rotation is led by junior right-hander Wade Strain with a 3-3 record, a 4.11 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 57 innings.  Senior southpaw Bodie Sheehan is 3-2 with a 3.18 ERA and 38 strikeouts while freshman left-hander Zach Tsakounis has a 4-2 record, striking out 41 with a 3.80 ERA.
 
About Schuerholz Park
Named in honor of Towson alum John Schuerholz and his father, Schuerholz Park, next to the Student Union building, underwent some changes for the 2019 season, including the addition of Bermuda grass and new DuraEdge infield material.
 
Towson Athletics – Helper Helper Community Service National Champion
The Towson University athletics department considers community service to be one of its highest priorities, and today, the NCAA has announced that Towson is the Division I national champion of the NCAA Team Works Helper Helper Competition for the Fall 2018 semester.
 
Towson completed the most community service hours among all schools in the competition, including 75 different Division I departments and approximately 300 total programs across the country.
 
"It is a great honor to be a national champion of community service," said Towson director of athletics Tim Leonard. "Community service is a part of our DNA here at Towson University, and our student-athletes represent this institution with pride here in the Greater Baltimore area.  This is a fantastic achievement for everyone in our department, including all student-athletes, coaches, administration and staff."
 
Towson student-athletes and staff completed 5,583 hours of community service from September to November around the Greater Baltimore area. 
 
- TowsonTigers.com –