The Series: Towson Tigers (17-16, 7-5 CAA) at Hofstra Pride (13-20, 6-3 CAA)
Where: Bill Edwards Stadium – Hempstead, N.Y.
When: Friday-Saturday, April 7-8 – Double header Friday and single game Saturday both starting at 1 p.m.
Broadcast: Live stream on FloSoftball, Live stats at GoHofstra.com

TOWSON, Md. – Towson softball travels to Long Island to take on Hofstra in a crucial three-game CAA series this weekend. Both Hofstra and Towson are fighting for CAA Tournament positioning with Hofstra coming into the weekend in fourth place and the Tigers in fifth.

Towson is coming off a 7-1 loss at George Mason on Wednesday afternoon. The Tigers fell behind early to the Patriots. Ally Hickman drove in the lone run for the Tigers in the fifth inning with an RBI single that scored Nadia Martyniuk.

Towson and Hofstra have met 99 times prior to this weekend with the Pride leading the all-time series 77-22 including a three-game sweep to end the 2022 season.

SCOUTING THE PRIDE:
Hofstra enters the weekend at 13-20, 6-3 CAA on the year having lost their last three games. Most recently the Pride fell 2-1 at Fordham on Wednesday afternoon. The Rams held the Pride off the board for most of the game, taking a 2-0 lead into the seventh. Hofstra would get a run and have the tying run on third, but they could not bring that run home. Kasey Collins is the only player batting over .300 at .302 with 32 hits. Meghan Giordano has 26 RBIs with a league-best 11 home runs. Annabella Pisapia leads the pitching staff with a 2.41 ERA while Haley Venturini has struck out 74 batters in 69.0 innings.

STREAK SPEAK:
Cori Jones and Madyson Peters are currently riding a five and nine-game hit streak respectively. Jones continued her streak with a single in the fifth inning on Wednesday, while Peters extended her streak to nine games with a hit in the fifth. Peters has three multi-hit games during that span that dates to March 25 against Elon.

PETERS AMONG THE BEST:
Madyson Peters is having a breakout season for the Tigers in 2023. The junior from Arizona is currently tied for first in the nation in doubles with 15. Peters is also third nationally in double per game at 0.47 with the leader at 0.54.

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

TIGERS HONORED:
Three 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.

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:
The Tigers will conclude their six-game road trip by making the short trek across I-695 to take on local-rival UMBC on Wednesday, April 12. First pitch with the Retrievers is set for 6 p.m.