CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The Towson University baseball team nearly earned a split at Western Carolina with a late lead in game two off a strong start from Danny Madden, but WCU got the wins 15-5 and 4-3 on Saturday afternoon.
 
Towson (0-3) led 3-2 after seven innings at WCU (3-0), but the Catamounts walked-off in the second game to sweep the doubleheader.
 
Key Stats:

• At the plate, Nick Brown hit .429 in the two games with a pair of doubles, two runs, a walk and an RBI.  Danny Becerra also hit .429, scoring three times, driving in a pair and walking three times.
• On the mound, both Towson starters got no-decisions: Nick Janowicz started game two with two innings, a pair of runs and a strikeout.  Danny Madden went 5.2 innings with two runs, just one earned, and four strikeouts.  The loss in game one went to Pete Marchineck (0-1), who had six runs, only one earned, in an inning of relief, while game two the defeat went to reliever Jake Pecilunas (0-1) with a run in the ninth.  Justin Rebok and Cam Clark each had 1.1 innings of scoreless relief.
• For WCU, Justice Bigbie combined to go 3-for-6 with five runs and three RBI.  The two wins went to relievers: Davis Tyndall (1-0) in game one with 1.2 scoreless and Zach Franklin (1-0) in game two, going two innings without runs.

How It Happened (Game 1):

• The game had a fast start as Towson struck in the first inning off a two-out Burke Camper double to score Danny Becerra.
• WCU got two in the bottom of the first, with Towson equalizing next frame.  With one away, Nick Brown found the hole on the right side for a single, scoring Jack McLaughlin and tying the game at two.
• Next inning, Towson retook the lead.  Following a Becerra single, Javon Fields notched a double to left, bringing Becerra home for a 3-2 Tigers lead.
• The home team scored six runs in the bottom of the third, just one earned, to go up 8-3.  Towson countered in the fourth off the bat of Becerra, getting a left field double to score Brown and Noah Cabrera to cut the deficit to 8-5.
• WCU added seven unanswered in the following four innings to go up by 10.  Towson got the bases loaded in the final inning in a comeback attempt, but could not plate a runner as the Tigers fell 15-5.

How It Happened (Game 2):

• In the opening inning, back-to-back free passes then a double steal from Becerra and Fields put second and third.  With two out, Billy Godrick drew a full count walk, with the fourth ball being a wild pitch.  Fields and Becerra each scored for a 2-0 Towson lead.
• A lead-off double by Brown in the second led to another run following a Jacob Terao sacrifice bunt: Matt Arceo slapped a single to right to bring in Brown for a 3-0 Towson lead.
• WCU added runs in the second and fourth as Danny Madden went 5.2 innings with just one earned.  Cam Clark pitched Towson through the seventh as the Tigers led 3-2.
• In the bottom of the eighth, WCU got the game-tying run on an RBI ground out from Daylan Nanny to make the score 3-3.
• Jake Pecilunas struck out two batters with one on in the bottom of the ninth.  But, Luke Robinson got a two-out walk-off double to send WCU to a 4-3 win.

Inside the Numbers:

• Danny Madden pitched in his first game for Towson and his first collegiate game since 2018.
• Danny Becerra and Burke Camper have each reached base safely in all three games to start 2021.

Next Game:
Towson is set for getaway day tomorrow with a 1 p.m. game at Western Carolina.