WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Senior righthander Brandon Gonnella pitched two shutout innings of relief to earn his first save of the season as the Tigers (1-0) came from behind to win their season opener with a 5-4 victory over host Wake Forest (0-1) in the opening round of the Wake Forest Tournament at Wake Forest Baseball Park on Saturday afternoon.

Gonnella was the last of three Tiger relief pitchers to shut out Wake Forest, enabling the Tigers to overcome a 4-0 fourth inning deficit. Sophomore righthander Joe Patton threw one scoreless inning of relief before sophomore Lee Lawler threw two shutout innings. Lawler was the beneficiary of the Tigers' late rally as he picked up the first victory of his college career.

Gonnella, who played centerfield for the first seven innings, allowed two singles but struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting Towson to a win over the Demon Deacons.

“Brandon Gonnella was almost dominant,” said Towson Coach Mike Gottlieb. “Once we got the lead, he shut the door on any comeback chances.”

Trailing by 4-0 in the fifth inning, the Tigers rallied to cut their deficit in half. A single by shortstop Hunter Bennett and a walk to catcher Zach Fisher put two runners on base with one out. Second baseman Pat Fitzgerald grounded into a force play to give the Tigers runners at first and third. A single to right center by Gonnella drove in Bennett with Towson's first run. When senior Kurt Wertz followed with an RBI single, Fitzgerald scored to make it 4-2. Junior Peter Bowles struck out to end the inning.

Junior righthander Connor Kaden came out of the bullpen to relieve starter Jack Fischer in the sixth inning and shut out the Tigers until the eighth inning.

Facing relief pitcher Mark McCoy, the Tigers rallied to take a lead. Gonnella started the inning by drawing a walk on a 3-2 pitch. With one out, Bowles drew a walk to put the tying runs on base. Senior rightfielder Dominic Fratantuono followed with a single to rightfield as Gonnella scored while Bowles reached third, cutting the deficit to 4-3. Sophomore righthander Aaron Fossas relieved McCoy and first baseman Brendan Butler greeted him with an RBI single to left, driving in Bowles with the tying run. A single by Brady Policelli loaded the bases. With two outs, Fisher drew a bases-loaded walk to drive in Fratantuono with the go-ahead. Fitzgerald grounded out to end the inning.

“The early part of the game, we played like a team that had not been outside very much,” said Gottlieb. “We were very sloppy and threw the ball around. Then, we settled in and played better.”

The Demon Deacons took a 3-0 lead in the second inning with the help of two errors by the Tigers. Matt Conway and Nate Mondou opened the inning with back-to-back singles. When Jack Carey bunted, pitcher Chris Acker made a throwing error, allowing Conway to score while Mondou reached third base. Conor Keniry popped up to Bennett for the first out but he made a throwing error and Carey moved into scoring position.

When Will Craig grounded out to second base, Mondou scored to give the Demon Deacons a 2-0 lead. A walk to Garrett Kelly gave Wake Forest runners at first and third. When Evan Stephens bunted for a single, Carey scored to give Wake a 3-0 advantage.

In the bottom of the third inning, a walk to Charlie Morgan and a double by Conway gave the Demon Deacons two runners in scoring position. However, Butler, the Tigers' first baseman, turned a ground ball into a double play by retiring Mondou and throwing to the plate where Zach Fisher tagged out Morgan. Acker struck out Carey to end the rally.

In the top of the third, the Tigers had runners at first and third with one out but Jack Fischer struck out the next two hitters to escape the jam.

With two outs in the fourth, Wake Forest rallied for another run. Garrett reached on a throwing error before Stephens was walked intentionally. An infield single by Joey Rodriguez enabled Garrett to score an unearned run.

Gonnella and Wertz led the Tigers with two hits each. Each of them drove in one run. The Tigers outhit Wake Forest, 10-8.

Acker, the Tigers' starting pitcher, threw four innings and allowed four unearned runs on five hits. He walked four and struck out one.

The Tigers return to action on Sunday when they face Georgetown University at 10:00 a.m.