The Game: Towson Tigers (23-17, 12-6 CAA) at Georgetown Hoyas (13-25, 7-8 BIG EAST)
Where: Washington Nationals Youth Academy – Washington, D.C.
When: Wednesday, April 19 – 7:00 p.m.
Broadcast: Live stream and live stats at GUHoyas.com

TOWSON, Md. – Towson softball will take their six-game win streak to the District for a midweek matchup with Georgetown on Wednesday night. The Tigers are coming off a 4-0 week that saw a midweek win against UMBC along with a three-game sweep of North Carolina A&T over the weekend.

The Tigers had to battle the elements on Saturday in a 5-1 win over the Aggies that saw a nearly three-hour weather delay due to lightning and rain. On Sunday, the Tigers dominated game one with a 9-2 win and got timely hitting in the series finale for a 3-2 win to improve to 23-17, 12-6 CAA. Towson is sitting in a three-way tie for third in the conference standings.

Towson and Georgetown have met 18 times prior to Wednesday with the Tigers leading the all-time series 12-6. Last year, the Hoyas defeated the Tigers 9-6 at Tiger Softball Stadium.

SCOUTING THE HOYAS:
Georgetown comes into the contest at 13-25, 7-8 BIG EAST after a 2-1 series win against Creighton this past weekend. The Hoyas won the first two games of the series 4-3 (F/8) and 9-1 (F/5) before falling in the finale 7-4. Cameron Kondo leads the team at the plate with a .306 batting average. Kondo leads the team in hits (33), home runs (13) and RBIs (36). Brooke Plonka leads the pitching staff with a 4.30 ERA with a 7-9 record in 25 appearances with 16 starts. Plonka leads the staff with 108 strikeouts in 96.1 innings of work.

PETERS AMONG THE BEST:
Madyson Peters is having a breakout season for the Tigers in 2023. The junior from Arizona is currently tied for second in the nation in doubles with 16. Peters is also third nationally in double per game at 0.43 with the leader at 0.52.

Peters has been named CAA Player of the Week twice during the 2023 season.

TIGERS HONORED:
Five different Tigers have earned CAA weekly awards so far in the 2023 season. Maddie Gardner was named pitcher of the week back on February 21 while Addie Ferguson was named rookie of the week the following week. Most recently, Madyson Peters was named player of the week on March 20 after leading Towson to their first CAA series sweep since 2019. Peters earned her second player of the week award on April 3 after leading the Tigers to another series sweep of Drexel.

Most recently Cori Jones and Kristin Toland earned CAA Player and Rookie of the Week honors on April 17 after leading the Tigers to a 4-0 week that included a sweep of North Carolina A&T.

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 road swing with a CAA series at first place Delaware on Saturday and Sunday, April 22-23. The Tigers and Blue Hens will play two on Saturday starting at noon with the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m.