TOWSON, Md. – Towson softball heads into their 23^rd season of Division I softball in 2023 after finishing the 2022 campaign 14-33, 4-16 CAA. Head coach Lisa Costello returns as the Tiger leader for her 28^th season at the helm. The Tigers will get the 2023 season underway in their first of two straight weekends in South Carolina at the Furman Invitational on Friday, Feb. 17 against Binghamton.

The Tigers had their previous weekend at Coastal Carolina canceled due to rain last weekend.

NEWCOMERS:
Towson will have 10 newcomers suit up in the Black and Gold for the 2023 season. Eight of the ten newcomers are freshman who will be making their collegiate debuts, joining a pair of DI transfers in Erin Brown (Thousand Oak, Calif./La Reina/St. John's) and Maddie Gardner (Sun Prairie, Wisc./Sun Prairie/South Florida).

Brown comes to Towson from St. John's University where she made 46 appearances in the circle with 25 starts throwing 173.2 innings. She amassed an 11-20 record with nine complete games, three shutouts and two saves. Her best season came during the Covid shortened 2020 campaign, going 5-6 with a 2.95 ERA in 61.2 innings.

Gardner made six appearances in two seasons for USF in the circle. She sported a 1-0 record in five appearances in 2021, picking up a victory against Florida Atlantic in 2.0 innings of relief.
Alyssa Myint, Nadia Martyniuk, Cheyenne Beayon, Isabella Canesi, Cara Bohner, Addie Ferguson, Kellie Zoerb and Grace Franczyk will also suit up for the Tigers in 2023.

2023 SCHEDULE:
The Tigers will open the season with two consecutive weekends down in South Carolina, starting with Furman Invitational. Towson will face Binghamton, Bellarmine, Sacred Heart and the host Paladins at the tournament. Following the weekend in Greenville, Towson will head to Charleston for a three-game set at Charleston Southern. The Tigers were set to open the season at Coastal Carolina but their weekend was canceled due to rain.

Towson will then host the TU DeMarini Invite, with CAA play starting on the road at UNCW March 11-12. The 2022 CAA Championships will be held on Long Island in Hempstead, N.Y. on May 9-13 with the top eight teams making the field.

NEW LOOK PITCHING STAFF:
Towson returns just two pitchers who saw action in the 2022 season in Paige Kostick and Sydni Byers. Kostick saw action in seven games with four starts, tossing 28.1 innings with 11 strikeouts. Byers appeared in five games out of the bullpen. Also returning for the Tigers will be Morgan Wagner who missed the 2022 season due to an injury.

Three newcomers will join the pitching staff in freshman Cheyenne Beayon and transfers Erin Brown and Maddie Gardner. Beayon comes to Towson from Mount De Sales with Brown and Gardner transferring from St. John's University and University of South Florida. Brown made 46 career appearances for the Red Storm with nine complete games. Gardner made six appearances in her two seasons with the Bulls.

OFFENSIVE DEPTH:
The Tigers return four of their top five hitters from 2022, including offensive leader Briana Ramirez. Ramirez led Towson with a .379 batting average and a .434 slugging percentage a year ago. Ramirez finished second in the CAA in batting and will enter 2023 as the top returning hitter from a year ago while also finishing third in hits with 55 in 2022.

Mackenzie Lake, Sydni Byers, and Madyson Peters also return to help a Towson offense that hit .252 from the plate in 2022. Lake finished the year with a .303 batting average, leading the team with seven doubles and five home runs. Byers hit .256 tying Lake with seven doubles and team-best 25 RBIs. Peters went .245 from the dish with 27 hits and six doubles.

CAA OUTLOOK:
UNCW will return looking defend its title from a year ago after running through the conference tournament as the three seed. Delaware finished with the regular season title after going 11-4 in conference play.

The league will welcome four new teams for the 2023 season with Hampton, Monmouth, North Carolina A&T and Stony Brook entering the fold. With the addition of the four new teams, the conference tournament will expand from five to eight teams.

NEXT GAME:
The Tigers will open the Furman Invitational against Binghamton on Friday, Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. Towson will also play the Bearcats on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. to close out the weekend with games against Bellarmine (2 p.m.) and Furman (7 p.m.) on Saturday and a game against Sacred Heart on Sunday morning at 9 a.m.