TOWSON, Md. – Senior pitcher Julia Jackson pitched a five-hitter and allowed one unearned run as the Towson University softball team beat Elon by 4-1 in the third and final game of its three-game series on Sunday afternoon.
 
Jackson, now 11-12 on the season, allowed just five hits and one unearned run while walking two and striking out four. She stranded seven Elon runners.
 
Elon outfit the Tigers by a 5-4 margin but Towson had two home runs and a triple. Cori Jones had two hits, including a triple and a solo homer. Sydni Byers also hit a solo homer as the Tigers took advantage of two walks and two sacrifice flies.
 
For Elon, Carley Davis finished 2-for-3 from the 5-spot of the order.  Starter Isley Duggins fell to 4-5 on the season, going 5.2 innings with four runs and two strikeouts.
 
How It Happened:

• The Tigers took advantage of some control issues by Elon pitcher Isley Duggins in the first inning. Nicole Kidwiler led off the first inning with a four-pitch walk. Then, Briana Ramirez drew a second straight walk to give the Tigers two runners on. A sacrifice bunt by Mackenzie Lake moved both runners into scoring position. Chloe Poulich hit a sacrifice fly to drive in the first run of the game. Madison Peters grounded out to end the inning.
• Towson increased its lead to 2-0 in the second inning. Cori Jones led off with a triple to left centerfield. Moments later, she scored on a sacrifice fly by Sydni Byers.
• Towson pitcher Julia Jackson ran into trouble in the third. Keegan Goldwalt led off with a walk. When Allee Searing singled to right, Elon had two runners with no outs. Megan Grant grounded into a force play for the first out, putting runners at the corners. The Tigers got the second out when Drew Menscer grounded back to Jackson. Then, Elon's top hitter, Rebecca Murray, popped up the end the threat.
• After her rough start, Duggins settled down and retired seven hitters in a row. Then, with two outs in the fourth inning, Byers blasted a solo home run over the left field fence to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead after four innings.
• In the sixth inning, Elon got on the scoreboard without a hit. Murray led off by reaching base on an infield error. Then, Murray made it to second base when Carley Davis grounded out to third but Poulich tried to get the lead run but Murray was sage. With two on and no outs, Jackson got tough. She struck out Chloe Hatzopoulos for the first out while both runners stole a base. With one out and two runners on, a wild pitch by Jackson enabled Murray to score to make it a 3-1 game. But Jackson struck out pinch hitter Claudia Penny for the second out. Then, she retired Megan White on a ground ball to second base to end the threat.
• With their lead reduced to 3-1, Jones blasted a two-out solo homer over the left field fence to put Towson up by 4-1.
• In the seventh inning, Jackson ran into some more trouble. With one out, Searing drew a walk. Megan Grant reached base on an infield single, Elon's first hit since the fourth inning. But, Jackson came back to retire pitch hitter Kaitlyn Wells on an infield pop up. With two outs, Jackson got Murray on a fly ball to left, ending the game.

Inside the Numbers:

• Julia Jackson pitched a pair of complete games against Elon this weekend, combining to go 14 innings with five runs, just four earned.
• Towson did not allow an extra base hit in the game.
• Cori Jones hit two triples and a home run in this weekend's series vs. Elon.

Next Game:
Towson plays its final non-conference game on Tuesday, April 26 at 4 p.m., playing at Mount St. Mary's.
 
- TowsonTigers.com –