Towson drops three-game series at Charleston

By: Tyler Young, Staff Writer

The Tigers (2-18, 0-3 Colonial Athletic Association) dropped both games of a doubleheader against conference rival Charleston (14-6, 3-0 CAA) on Saturday to finalize a three-game sweep in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.

“We had 14 hits one day and 15 hits another day,” Head Coach Mike Gottlieb said. “I like what we did this weekend from an offensive standpoint.”

In the first game of the day, Towson took a 2-0 lead over Charleston in the first inning and then doubled it to 4-0 in the top of the third inning.

The advantage was short-lived, though. Charleston struck back with three runs on four hits in the bottom of the frame, cutting it to a 4-3 game.

A few innings later, the Cougars took the lead and ran with it. They used two hits and an error to score two runs and go up 5-4 in the bottom of the fifth. They added an insurance run in the eighth inning, making the final score, 6-4.

Sophomore right-hander Kevin Ross (1-2) took the loss for Towson, pitching five innings and allowing five runs on eight hits, no walks and two strikeouts. Sophomore left-hander Bruce Zimmerman made an appearance, tossing three innings of one-run ball with one strikeout.

“We had a chance there when we were one run down so I brought [Zimmerman] into the game,” Gottlieb said. “I thought we were going to score a couple more runs, but it didn’t happen.”

Right-hander Brandon Glazer (4-0) grabbed the win for the home team after pitching 4.2 innings with no earned runs. Righty Carter Love (1) earned the two-inning save.

The second game of the day was an offensive battle in which Towson ultimately fell, 12-9.

The Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the first inning once again, but the Cougars fired back in the bottom of the inning with five runs of their own on three hits, three walks and a steal. Junior right-hander Nick Cioffi left after just that one inning and was replaced by junior righty Austin Clark.

Over the next few innings, the teams traded blows. The Tigers put up one run in the second, followed by a Cougar run in the third, and then two more Tiger runs in the top of the fourth and another run in the top of the sixth to tie things up at six runs apiece.

The bottom of the seventh saw 11 Cougars step to the plate and record six runs on three hits, two walks, a hit-by-pitch and an error to give them a 12-6 advantage.

Towson mounted a minor comeback attempt in the top of the ninth inning, scoring three runs on four hits and an error, but it wasn’t enough.

Eight Tigers recorded a hit in the game. Sophomore A.J. Gallo went 3-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored. Senior Peter Bowles added a 3-for-5 day with two RBI. Senior Brendan Butler and sophomore Colin Dyer each had two-hit games as well.

Clark (0-4) got the loss after 5.1 innings of work, allowing six runs on six hits, three walks and four strikeouts. Junior righty Lee Lawler, freshman right-hander Mason Anderson and freshman lefty David Marriggi combined for 1.2 innings of scoreless relief. Left-hander Eric Bauer (3-2) took the win for Charleston.

“We are swinging it better,” Gottlieb said. “We are taking more pitches and getting deeper into counts. … And we are playing better on defense. If we played this way earlier in the season we would have a few more wins under our belt.”

The Tigers are back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Dover, Delaware to take on the Delaware State Hornets. They return to Schuerholz Park on Friday to face the UNC Wilmington Seahawks and begin an eight-game home stand.