The Games: Towson (14-38, 4-19 CAA) vs. North Carolina A&T (24-27, 8-16 CAA)
When:
Thursday, May 16 – 3 p.m.
Friday, May 17 – 3 p.m.
Saturday, May 18 – 1 p.m.
Where: John B. Schuerholz Park | Towson, Md.
Broadcasts: FloBaseball
TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University baseball team is hosting North Carolina A&T in the final Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) series of the year starting Thursday at 3 p.m. at John B. Schuerholz Park.
Due to expected inclement weather on Saturday, Senior Day ceremonies will now take place on Friday at approximately 2:30 p.m. prior to the game. Weather permitting, the teams will play the series finale on Saturday at 1 p.m.
See the attached parking flyers for information on coming to campus on Thursday and Friday.
All three games will be streamed live on FloBaseball. Live stats for all three games will be available on TowsonTigers.com.
The all-time series between the Tigers and Aggies is tied 2-2. The Aggies won the last matchup 6-3 on the back end of a doubleheader in Greensboro, N.C., on March 11, 2023.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
North Carolina A&T enters the series at 24-27 overall and 8-16 in CAA play. The Aggies were picked to finish 10
th in the CAA preseason coaches poll. North Carolina A&T catcher Canyon Brown was named a preseason All-CAA honorable mention.
LAST TIME OUT: WILLIAM AND MARY OUTLASTS TOWSON IN SERIES FINALE
In the Sunday rubber match, Towson posted one run each in the second and fourth innings to cut into the three-run William & Mary lead after one inning. The Tribe added two runs in the fourth on a pair of wild pitches to re-extend their lead to three runs.
Brian Heckelman notched an RBI on a bases-loaded walk in the seventh before the Tribe added some insurance in the eighth inning with four runs on three hits. Heckelman picked up a two-out walk before the final batter was retired for a 9-3 final at Plumeri Park.
ROBINSON THE FIRST TIGER SINCE 2014 TO EARN MULTIPLE CAA ROOKIE OF THE WEEK AWARDS
Taye Robinson was named the CAA Rookie of the Week after batting .476 (10-for-21) with seven runs scored and eight RBIs in Towson's 3-2 week, making him the first Tiger since 2014 to earn the distinction twice in one season (Bruce Zimmermann, 2). The Gaithersburg, Md., native hit safely in all five games, starting with a career-best 4-for-6 performance with a double, triple and seven runs batted in in the Tigers' 20-10 win over Richmond.
ROBINSON NAMED ROOKIE OF THE WEEK ON 4/1
Taye Robinson was named the CAA Rookie of the Week on April 1 following a 6-for-14 week at the dish with two doubles, four runs scored, four RBIs and two stolen bases in the 3-1 Towson week that included a series win over Hofstra.
NABHOLZ TABBED 3/11 CAA PITCHER OF THE WEEK
After scattering five hits in his seven-inning scoreless start vs. Yale on March 10, 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.
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 Washington in the 1960s.
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.
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 Tampa Bay and was an Opening Day starter for the 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.
-TowsonTigers.com-