The Matchup: Towson (11-21, 3-1 CAA) vs. Fordham (16-9, 3-1 Atlantic 10)
The Games: April 17, 1 p.m. (doubleheader)
Place: John B. Schuerholz Park – Towson, Md.
Broadcast : Towson Sports Network
Live Stats: towsontigers.com
 
TOWSON, Md. – With the Northeastern series off, the Towson University baseball team will now play a home doubleheader against Fordham on Saturday, April 17 at 1 p.m.
 
Both games will be broadcast online by the Towson Sports Network.  Live stats will be available on towsontigers.com.
 
Towson was originally scheduled to play a CAA series against Northeastern.  Towson and Fordham agreed to play a Saturday doubleheader at Schuerholz.
 
Towson is coming off its first shutout road win since 2013 in a 4-0 victory over Georgetown on Tuesday to be 11-21 overall and 3-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association.  Fordham also won its Tuesday game, defeating Army West Point 3-2, to enter Saturday at 16-7 overall and 3-1 in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
 
This will be the fourth and fifth all-time meetings between Towson and Fordham, with all games being at Schuerholz Park.  Fordham leads the all-time series 2-1.  They met twice in March 2019 with the teams splitting: Towson won 8-0, Fordham won 6-1.
 
Towson's starting right fielder, Billy Godrick, graduated from Fordham and was part of the 2019 Atlantic 10 championship team.
 
Projected Starting Rotation - Towson:
Game 1 - Josh Seils, RHP (2-4, 6.97 ERA, 41.1 IP, 35/20 K-BB)
Game 2 - Nick Janowicz, RHP (2-1, 8.28 ERA, 29.1 IP, 25/14 K-BB)
 
Projected Starting Rotation - Fordham:
Game 1 - Matt Mikulski, LHP (5-0, 0.96 ERA, 37.2 IP, 68/13 K-BB)
Game 2 - Garrett Crowley, LHP (3-1, 2.33 ERA, 27.0 IP, 39/12 K-BB)
 
FIELDS NAMED PRESEASON HM ALL-CAA
Javon Fields was selected as 2021 Preseason Honorable Mention All-CAA in the preseason coaches poll.  Fields was previously 2020 Preseason All-CAA and 2019 CAA All-Rookie Team.
 
He has started nearly every game in his Towson career as the team's centerfielder, hitting .293 last season.
 
LAST TIME: TOWSON SHUTS OUT GEORGETOWN
Using eight pitchers in a rescheduled mid-week game, Towson shut out Georgetown 4-0 to earn its first non-weekend victory of the season.
Key stat:
--First road shutout victory since April 14, 2013
Top Towson batter:
--#13 Noah Cabrera: 2-for-5, solo home run
Top Towson pitcher:
--#28 Nick Ramanjulu: W, 2.0 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 K
 
SEILS, CAMPER NAMED TOP-10 CAA DRAFT CLASS PROSPECTS
Two Tigers, Josh Seils and Burke Camper, were ranked in the top-10 among CAA players in their respective Major League Baseball classes by Perfect Game USA.  Among CAA players, Seils is ninth in the 2021 draft class while Camper is ninth in the 2022 draft class.
 
Seils was eligible for the MLB Draft last year but returned to Towson.  The junior pitcher is Towson's Friday starter, has 123 career strikeouts and threw 6.1 innings with two runs against #7 Miami last year.
 
Camper was one of the CAA's top freshmen last year, hitting .314 with three doubles and 11 RBI in 15 games, split between catcher and designated hitter.
 
GO!
Towson has had a strong start on the basepaths, stealing 49 bases in 61 attempts.  Javon Fields is 11-for-13 on stolen bases while Danny Becerra is 10-for-13.  As of April 15, Towson is 18th in DI in total stolen bases.
 
REPPING THE HOME STATE
14 who suit up for the Black & Gold hail from the Old Line State of Maryland.  This includes several players from the Baltimore metropolitan area: Nick Brown, Alex Parker, Trent Gast-Woodard, Bryce Frederick and Ryan Schechner.
 
BRING BACK THE STAFF...
Towson returns 12 pitchers who accounted for 127.2 of the 128 innings thrown during the 2020 season.  They combined for a 4.29 team ERA under pitching coach Miles Miller, 1.3 points better than in 2019.  Two Tigers, Austin Weber and Nick Ramanjulu, ranked top-10 in the CAA in ERA at 2.94 and 3.22 respectively.
 
NEWCOMERS ADD TO THE LINEUP
Several newcomers have been key parts to the Towson lineup in 2021.  Danny Becerra, transfer from San Diego Mesa, is the team's starting shortstop and leads the team in batting average (.264).  Billy Godrick, grad transfer from Fordham, locks down right field and hits .250 with 26 free passes and eight steals.  Illinois State transfer Nolan Young is the second baseman, hitting .234 with a team-best 16 RBI.
 
TIGERS IN THE PROS
Towson has two players in the minor leagues.  Richie Palacios, a third round pick by Cleveland in 2018, is the #31 rated-prospect in the system, missing 2019 due to shoulder surgery.  Brady Policelli, a 13th round draft pick by the Detroit Tigers in 2016, was a spring training invite in 2019 and 2020 after earning FSL All-Star honors in 2019. Gavin Weyman pitched in the independent United Shore Professional Baseball League in 2020 for the second straight year.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:
Fordham was supposed to play Rhode Island this weekend before plans changed.  Hitting .270 as a team, Fordham is led by junior outfielder Jake Guercio with a .358 average with eight RBI.  Starting pitcher Matt Mikulski is on the Golden Spikes Award Watch List, standing 5-0 with a 0.96 ERA and striking out 68 batters in 37.2 innings.