The Game: Towson Tigers (23-18, 12-6 CAA) at Delaware Blue Hens (23-16, 12-3 CAA)
Where: Delaware Softball Stadium – Newark, Del.
When: Friday-Saturday, April 21-22 – Friday double header starting at 2 p.m., Saturday single game at 1 p.m.
Broadcast: Live stream on FloSoftball, live stats at BlueHens.com

TOWSON, Md. – Towson softball will travel up I-95 to take on Delaware in a key CAA series this weekend. The Tigers are currently in a tie for third place in the CAA standings with the Blue Hens currently in first place. Towson is coming off a loss at Georgetown on Wednesday after a three-game sweep of North Carolina A&T last weekend.

The Tigers are coming off an 8-0 loss at Georgetown on Wednesday night that saw the Tigers six-game win streak snapped. Mackenzie Lake had the lone hit for the Tigers in the contest. Prior to the game with the Hoyas, Towson swept the Aggies to improve to 12-6 in the conference.

Towson and Delaware have met 129 times prior to the weekend set with the Blue Hens holding a slim 67-62 advantage in the series. Last season, Delaware took two of three in Towson. This will be the first time since 2019 the two will meet in Newark.

SCOUTING THE BLUE HENS:
The Blue Hens come into the weekend series at 23-16, 12-3 CAA on the year having won their last two games. Most recently, Delaware defeated Coppin State 8-4 on Wednesday night. The two were tied after one, but the Blue Hens scored six unanswered to pull away for good. Delaware has three hitting over .300 on the year led by Julz Garber at .386. Garber, along with Hanna Garber are tied for the team lead with 49 hits. Kiara Mills is also over .300 at .309 with a team-high two home runs and 22 RBIs. In the circle, Emily Winburn leads the pitching staff with a 2.18 ERA with five shutouts and 84 strikeouts.

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 return home for their final CAA series of the season against Stony Brook next Saturday and Sunday, April 29-30. The Tigers and Seawolves will play two on Saturday at noon with a single game Sunday at 1 p.m. Towson will honor two seniors, Emma Armstrong and Briana Ramirez on Sunday prior to the game.