The Games: Towson (4-14) @ #9 Duke (15-5) / vs. George Washington
When:
Tuesday, March 19 @ Duke, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, March 20 vs. George Washington, 3 p.m.
Where:
Jack Coombs Field | Durham, N.C.
John B. Schuerholz Park | Towson, Md.
Broadcast: ACC Network – Tuesday | FloSports – Wednesday
 
TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University baseball team has a quick turnaround in its next two games, starting with Tuesday's trip to Durham, N.C., to face #9 Duke at 7 p.m. at Jack Coombs Field on ACC Network. On Wednesday, the Tigers return home to host George Washington at John B. Schuerholz Park at 3 p.m.
 
Admission for all Towson home games is free to the public. See the attached parking flyer for information on coming to campus for Wednesday's game.
 
Tuesday's game will air live on the ACC Network. Wednesday's game is scheduled to stream online on FloSports (subject to change). Live stats for both games will be available on TowsonTigers.com
 
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS
Duke enters Tuesday's matchup ranked as the No. 9 team in the nation according to D1Baseball at 15-5 overall. The Blue Devils were picked third in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Baseball preseason poll. Duke boasts multiple pitchers who earned preseason All-America honors.
 
SCOUTING THE REVOLUTIONARIES
George Washington stands at 11-8 as of Monday with a lone matchup vs. Delaware Tuesday before facing Towson. GW was selected ninth of 12 teams in the Atlantic 10 (A-10) preseason poll. Steve Ditamaso was selected as a preseason all-conference selection for the Revolutionaries.
 
LAST TIME OUT: TIGERS DROP SUNDAY RUBBER MATCH TO NIAGARA
The Tigers hosted Niagara at Schuerholz Park last weekend, falling to the Purple Eagles, 13-9, in the Sunday rubber match in a back-and-forth tilt between the two squads.
 
NABHOLZ TABBED 3/11 CAA PITCHER OF THE WEEK
After scattering five hits in his seven-inning scoreless start vs. Yale on Sunday, RHP Nate Nabholz was named the CAA Pitcher of the Week. Nabholz matched a career-high with 8 Ks.
 
BISHOP & FREDERICK TABBED PRESEASON ALL-CAA HMs
Infielders Casey Bishop & Bryce Frederick each received Preseason All-CAA Honorable Mention designations, voted on by the league's head coaches.
 
Bishop was named to the 2023 CAA All-Rookie Team after finishing as the Tigers' lead man at the plate in 2023. He finished with 22 stolen bases on 23 attempts, the fifth-highest mark in the league.
 
Frederick was named a Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week on April 10, 2023 after hitting walk-off home runs in back-to-back games. Frederick batted .636 (7-for-11) with two doubles, three homers and nine RBI in victories over UMBC (15-13) and George Mason (10-8) in that stretch.
 
BACK IN BLACK
The Tigers returned 24 letterwinners from the 2023 season, with no outgoing transfers leaving from last year's squad. Towson had just one outgoing transfer in the preseason from an incoming addition.
 
WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE
The 2024 roster features 16 newcomers: eight freshmen and eight transfers. Incoming transfers include College of Charleston infielder Taye Robinson, Richmond pitcher Jake Michel and OF/1B Devan Barnett from VCU. Incoming freshmen include Alex Cromwell
from St. Paul's School in Baltimore and Ryder Jeske from the Pro5 Academy in Chapel Hill, N.C.
 
HOMEGROWN TALENT
The 2024 roster features 17 players that hail from Maryland, including ten returners and seven newcomers. Among the seven newcomers, five are transfers and two are freshmen. An additional five players are from Virginia, bringing the total to 22 players from the DMV area.
 
RUNS IN THE FAMILY
The Tigers have strong connections to professional sports, starting with OF Jeremy Wagner, the son of longtime MLB pitcher Billy Wagner. Another MLB connection comes from RHP Nate Nabholz, the nephew of former big league pitcher Chris Nabholz. Freshman pitcher Joey Zito is the nephew of Cy Young-winning pitcher Barry Zito. RHP Jordan Luton is the brother of Jake Luton, former NFL quarterback. Incoming freshman Brooks Lang is the son of longtime NHL hockey player Robert Lang. Transfer Ryan Williamson's grandfather, Jim Cunningham, played football for the Washington Redskins in the 1960s.
 
TIGERS IN THE PROS
In July, RHP Ethan Pecko was picked in the sixth round (194) of the MLB draft as the 19th Towson player in program history to be selected. Former Towson player, Richie Palacios, a third-round pick by Cleveland in 2018, made his Major League debut with the Guardians in 2022. He went 2-for-3 in his first game in the Show and finished the year batting .232 with seven runs, six doubles and 10 RBI. He did most of his damage as a pinch-hitter, where he hit .263 in 22 plate appearances with six RBI and three doubles. After starting the 2023 season in AAA with the Columbus Clippers, Palacios was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals where he batted .258 with 9 runs, six doubles, six home runs and 16 RBI in 32 Major League games. In January, Palacios was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays. Brady Policelli, a 13th-round draft pick by the Detroit Tigers in 2016, was a spring training invite in 2019, 2020 and 2021 having spent six years in the minors. Gavin Weyman has pitched in independent league ball the past four years, throwing for the High Point Rockers and the Charleston Dirty Birds in the Atlantic League in 2022.
 
CAA NEWCOMER
After two additions in 2023, the Campbell Camels have joined the CAA for the 2024 season. The Camels were predicted to finish third in the conference preseason poll. Three Camels received All- CAA honors in OF Lawson Harrill, C Grant Knipp and RHP Chance Daquila. The Camels enter the season as the defending Big South champions with five-consecutive regular season championships.
 
TOWSON PICKED ELEVENTH IN CAA PRESEASON POLL
Towson has been predicted to finish 11th in the CAA preseason coaches poll. The Northeastern Huskies finished first with eight first-place votes while UNCW finished in second with four.