The Series: Towson Tigers (12-9, 3-3 CAA) vs. Villanova Wildcats (13-13, 5-1 BIG EAST)
Where: Tiger Softball Stadium – Towson, Md.
When: Tuesday, March 21 – Double header starting at 2 p.m.
Broadcast: Live stream on FloSports, live stats at TowsonTigers.com.

TOWSON, Md. – Towson softball will conclude their seven-game home stand against Villanova on Tuesday afternoon. The Tigers have won four of their last five including a series sweep against Charleston this past weekend. Towson has been strong at home this season, going 8-2 in 10 games played at Tiger Softball Stadium.

Junior catcher Madyson Peters was named CAA Player of the Week, the conference announced on Monday. Peters led the Tigers at the plate batting .438 with a home run, three doubles and eight RBIs. She had the game-winning grand slam in the series finale against Charleston and has improved her hit streak to six games.

Towson is coming off their first CAA series sweep since 2019, going 3-0 against Charleston this past weekend. Madyson Peters had a big week for the Tigers, capping her weekend with a go-ahead grand slam in game three in a 9-5 win. The Tigers also won both games on Saturday by scores of 3-2 and 6-3.

Villanova and Towson have met 25 times prior to Tuesday with the Wildcats leading the all-time series 16-9. Villanova is also 10-3 in games played at Towson. The two teams split a series last season in Pennsylvania.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS:
Villanova comes into the midweek matchup at 13-13, 5-1 BIG EAST riding a five-game win streak. This past weekend the Wildcats swept Creighton by scores of 4-3, 8-7 and 10-4. Tess Cites leads the team at the dish with a .357 batting average with a team-high 30 hits and six doubles. Ryan Henry and Chloe Smith are hitting just under .300 and are leading the team with four home runs each. Smith has driven in 18 runs. Kat Gallant leads the Wildcat pitching staff with a 2.56 ERA and 36 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 hit the road for the next four games, starting with a single game at UNCG on Thursday, March 23. First pitch with the Spartans is set for 4 p.m. on ESPN+.