The Series: Towson Tigers (9-9, 0-3 CAA) vs. Charleston Cougars (7-16, 2-1 CAA)
Where: Tiger Softball Stadium – Towson, Md.
When: Saturday-Sunday, March 18-19 – Saturday double header starting at 12 p.m., Sunday single game at 1 p.m.
Broadcast: Live stream on FloSports on Sunday only, live stats at TowsonTigers.com.

TOWSON, Md. – Towson softball continues their stretch of seven straight home contests with a three-game CAA series against Charleston this weekend. The Tigers are coming off a split against Saint Francis University on Wednesday afternoon and are 9-9, 0-3 CAA on the year.

The Tigers had a big offensive output in game one against the Red Flash with Emma Armstrong blasting a three-run home off the scoreboard in right field to tie the game after one inning. The Tigers would put up another three runs in the fifth to take an 8-5 lead and add an insurance run in the sixth to take a 9-5 win. The Red Flash would score three in fifth inning and hold the Tigers to just four total hits in a 3-0 win in game two.

Towson and Charleston have met 29 times prior to this weekend with the Cougars leading the all-time series 18-11. Charleston has won the last five meetings, with the last Towson win coming in 2018.
Towson is 1-12 all-time in South Carolina, but are 6-3 in games played at Towson.

SCOUTING THE COUGARS:
The Cougars come to Towson at 7-16, 2-1 CAA on the year and will be playing just their second true road contest of the year. Charleston lost their only other road matchup against South Carolina to open the season, 8-0. The Cougars fell 5-4 in their most recent matchup to Ohio State on Wednesday. Aniz Roman leads the Cougars at the plate batting .277 with 18 hits. Karlee Hughes has hit two home runs with Malaka Belser driving in eight runs. In the circle, Payton Lemire has thrown the most innings with a 3.64 ERA and 39 strikeouts.

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 conclude their home stand with a double header against Villanova on Tuesday, March 21 starting at 2 p.m. The games will air on FloSports.