Spiders sweep series
By: Jill Gattens, Staff Writer
File photo by Jasmine Williams/ The Towerlight
Towson was swept in a three-game series by non-conference opponent Richmond at Pitt Field in Richmond, Virginia, this weekend.
“We came out and competed,” Head Coach Matt Tyner said. “It’s a step in the right direction. We put ourselves in a position to win, even though we lost a couple of tough games.”
In Sunday’s series finale, the Spiders (5-2) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead over the Tigers (1-5) after a first inning home run and a passed ball. The Tigers answered back in the second, as sophomore outfielder Bo Plagge blasted a home run to cut the lead in half.
Down 3-1 In the third inning, junior infielder Richie Palacios plated another run on an RBI double to again bring Towson within one run.
Senior infielder Charlie Watters gave the Tigers their first lead of the ballgame in the fourth on a two-run home run, but the Spiders regained their lead in the fifth inning after scoring three runs.
Towson added another run in the eighth inning, but Richmond 10-5 held on and completed the three-game sweep.
Senior pitcher Michael Adams (0-2) finished the day allowing six runs on eight hits through five innings of work.
In Saturday’s game, the Tigers jumped out to an early 1-0 lead from a Palacios home run in the fourth inning.
Towson followed up with two more runs in the fifth to take a 3-0 lead, as senior catcher Tristan Howerton doubled to score senior infielder Billy Lennox and redshirt freshman infielder Dirk Masters followed with an RBI single to score Howerton.
Richmond got back into the game in the sixth inning by scoring two runs. The team’s two-run inning made it a 3-2 game heading into the seventh.
In the seventh, the Spiders tied the game on a single and pulled ahead 5-3 after a bases-loaded walk. The Spiders added two more runs in the eighth to finish off the Tigers 7-3.
Freshman pitcher Jake Pecilunas (0-1) took the loss after giving up three runs on three hits through two-thirds of an inning.
“I need pitchers to throw strikes and play with confidence,” Tyner said.
On Friday, the Spiders took an early 7-0 lead after plating a run in the first and second inning followed by a five run third.
In the fifth inning, redshirt junior outfielder Mark Grunberg and Palacios put Towson on the board with back-to-back RBI doubles. Junior infielder Richard Miller hit a sacrifice fly later in the inning, and senior outfielder Colin Gimblet scored on a dropped third-strike to cut Richmond’s lead to three.
However, Richmond added two runs in both the fifth and eighth innings to extend their lead to 11-4. The team held on to win 11-5 and take the series-opener.
Junior pitcher Gavin Weyman (0-1) took the loss after allowing five runs on four hits in 2.1 innings of work.
“I’m looking for consistency,” Tyner said. “I’m looking for guys to string two to three good games in a row.”
Towson will host Albany in its first home series of the season March 2 through March 4. First pitch of the series-opener at Schuerholz Park is set for 2 p.m.
