Baseball: Towson falls to UNCW

By: Chris Wells, Staff Writer 

Towson lost its final game of the series Sunday 11-4 against Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) rival UNC Wilmington (27-9, 8-2 CAA).

The Tigers (14-27, 5-7 CAA) were tied at two apiece through four innings, but a hot fifth and sixth inning resulted in nine runs for the Seahawks. 

Despite freshman Richie Palacios’ fourth home run of the season in the ninth inning, the lead was too much to overcome. Palacios went 1-for-4 at bat including two RBIs.

“There’s really nothing he can’t do on the baseball field,” Head Coach Mike Gottlieb said. “He has surprising power for his size, he runs well and he plays the game aggressively in all aspects.”

Sophomore David Marriggi (1-4) suffered the loss after allowing seven runs on seven hits in 4.2 innings of play.

Hitting was at a minimum for Towson in defeat, only recording four hits.

Sunday marked the Tigers ninth loss in a row.

“I don’t like to admit it but we ran into a juggernaut,” Gottlieb said. “They’ve been running everyone over, we were competitive but the box score doesn’t show that.”

Saturday Palacios stole two bases in defeat bringing his total to 29 on the year, good enough to tie the single-season stolen base record. He went 1-for-3 at bat and recorded two runs.

The record-tying day resulted in the Seahawks victorious with a final score of 6-2.

Junior Chris Henze had a strong day going 2-for-4 at bat including two RBIs.

After 5.1 innings on the mound, Junior Kevin Ross (2-5) gave up four runs on seven hits in defeat.

Friday the seventh inning would prove to be the final blow the Seahawks needed to prevail victorious as they earned five runs to put the game out of reach. 

The final score was 7-2, but freshman pitcher Skyler Morris (2-2) was impressive in spite of the loss. Morris only surrendered two runs on four hits in six innings.

“I have no consideration for his age,” Gottlieb said. “He’s college eligible, his arm works, he throws strikes. The scoreboard doesn’t show age.”

The Tigers hitting issues resurfaced only recording six hits, three of which came in the ninth innings while trailing. Henze led the offense Friday with two hits and one RBI.

Towson continues action Wednesday against Delaware State at Schuerholz Park at 3:30 p.m.

“I like to think we’ll continue to be competitive down the stretch and win some games,” Gottlieb said. “Wilmington is head and shoulders above the rest in the league, but there is no clear cut number two team. We’re capable of being that team.”

Following its game against Deleware State, Towson will host CAA rival College of Charleston for a three game series.

The Cougars are 22-17-1 on the year with a 6-6 record in conference play. 

The series will start Friday, April 29, at 3 p.m.