The Series: Towson Tigers (3-2) at Charleston Southern Buccaneers (4-2)
Where: CSU Softball Complex – Charleston, S.C.
When: Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 25-26 – Saturday DH starting at 1 p.m., Sunday single game at 1 p.m.
Broadcast: Sunday will air on ESPN+, Live stats at CSUSports.com
Series: Towson leads 7-4

TOWSON, Md. – Towson softball will look to build off a strong start to the 2023 season with a three-game series at Charleston Southern on Saturday and Sunday. The Tigers enter the weekend at 3-2 after spending last weekend at the Furman Invitational.

The Tigers dropped their opening game of the season, 3-2 to Binghamton before defeating Bellarmine (3-1), Furman (4-2), and Sacred Heart (9-6) over their next three games. In the weekend finale, the Tigers once again fell to the Bearcats 2-0. Transfer Maddie Gardner was named CAA Pitcher of the Week after posting a 1-1 record with a 1.00 ERA and eight strikeouts.

Towson and Charleston Southern have met 11 times prior to this weekend with the Tigers leading the series 7-4. The Buccaneers have won the last three meetings, including the most recent matchup in 2018, 15-4. Prior to the last three meetings, Towson had won five straight.

SCOUTING THE BUCCANEERS:
Charleston Southern comes into the weekend at 4-4 on the year, most recently dropping a pair at Duke on Wednesday afternoon. CSU is 4-2 at home this season and are hitting just .197 as a team. Harper Schoeneweis is leading the team with a .267 batting average with a .788 ops. Ashley Meckley is the only other Buccaneer hitting over .200, batting right at that mark. In the circle, Annah Junge leads the pitching staff going 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA with 31 strikeouts compared to just four walks.

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.

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.

NEXT GAME:
Towson will open the home portion of their schedule with the Towson DeMarini Invite, March 3-5. Towson will be joined by Bucknell, Bryant and Coppin State for the three-day tournament with three games being played each day.