Early efforts earn Tigers a special win for the first time in eight years
By Tommy Pelle, Deputy Sports Editor
On Sunday, May 4 the Towson Tigers took on the Stony Brook Seawolves in game three of their weekend series. On International Star Wars Day, the force was with the Tigers, as a 9-4 win handed Towson their first series sweep since 2017.
After securing their first series win since their road trip to Delaware in the beginning of April, the Tigers locked their eyes on a new hope, securing their first series sweep since 2017 and their first conference series sweep since facing the James Madison Dukes in 2016.
In the first two innings, the Tigers took the high ground. Starting pitcher Dutch DeProspero notched three strikeouts, all of which were swinging strikeouts.
The bottom halves of the first two innings featured the attack of the Tigers. Center fielder Brett Ahalt doubled and tripled in the two innings, driving in three runs. Left fielder Brady Nathison hit his fourth home run of the season.
“To come out and score seven runs in the first two innings, in a game that you could have come out and played like the weather looked, it could’ve been the other way around,” said head coach Matt Tyner. “Thankfully our guys didn’t. They drank the Kool-Aid, they were ready to go.”
The revenge of the Seawolves struck in the fifth. Home runs from Chris Carson and Nico Azpilcueta made it a 7-3 ballgame.
The bottom of the fifth saw the return of the Tigers and their potent offense. A RBI double from Tigers third baseman Casery Bishop headlined a two-run inning, making it a 9-3 game.
In the top of the sixth the Tigers faced more trouble. After already conceding a run earlier in the inning, Stony Brook had the bases loaded with two outs. On a 2-2 pitch, Stony Brook first baseman Erik Paulsen lined a ball into deep center field. It took a running catch from Ahalt, running into the center field fence, to record the third out of the inning, keeping the Towson lead at 9-4.
A chaotic first two-thirds of the game transitioned into a much calmer seventh, eighth and ninth innings. Tigers relievers Ryder Jeske and Kyle Emmons surrendered just one hit over the last 3.1 innings, stifling one of the better offenses in the CAA.
In the ninth inning, a fielder’s choice at second base secured Towson the victory and earned the Tigers their first series sweep in eight years.
“It’s a huge sweep for our team and it puts us back into the hunt for a spot in that conference tournament,” said Tyner. “Obviously there’s still a lot of work still to be done, but without this performance this weekend we can pretty much write it off.”
Ahalt finished the day going 2-3 with three RBIs as well as a crucial catch to kill Stony Brook’s momentum. Catcher Brian Heckelman finished 1-4 with an RBI, capping off a 6-13 series. Emmons earned his second win of the season, pitching two scoreless innings and surrendering just one hit.
The Tigers finish up their mid-week schedule in the upcoming days, hosting the Richmond Spiders on May 6 and traveling to the University of Virginia on May 7. First pitch against Richmond is scheduled for 3:00 pm.
The Tigers are now 18-30.