Tigers strike out
By: Jill Gattens, Staff Writer
Towson was swept by Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) rival Northeastern in a three-game series to open up conference play this weekend at John B. Schuerholz Baseball Complex.
“We came up short in every game,” Head Coach Mike Gottlieb said. “We didn’t hit well enough to overcome our mistakes.”
In Sunday’s series finale, the Tigers jumped on the board first when sophomore infielder Richard Miller delivered a sacrifice-fly that scored sophomore infielder Richie Palacios.
In the third inning, redshirt senior outfielder A.J. Gallo singled to left to score Palacios and redshirt sophomore outfielder Mark Grunberg, giving Towson a 3-0 lead.
Gallo went 2-for-4 with two hits and two RBIs, and Palacios went 2-for-3 and scored two runs in the game.
Junior pitcher Michael Adams kept the Huskies off the board for the first five innings. However, in the sixth inning the Huskies got onto the board due to an error.
Adams tossed seven innings and gave up only two earned runs on five hits. However, he took a no-decision.
Northeastern took a 4-3 the lead in the eighth inning on a single to left that was good for two runs. Northeastern added another run in the ninth to ensure a 5-3 win over Towson to complete the sweep.
Senior Kyle Stricker (1-2) took the loss after giving up two runs on four hits through two innings of work.
Due to forecasted rain Friday, Saturday saw a doubleheader in which Towson dropped both contests.
In game one of the doubleheader, Northeastern got on the board first with a third inning grand slam to take a 4-0 lead.
“The big innings is what killed us,” Gottlieb said. “They hurt us in the long run.”
Redshirt junior infielder Colin Gimblet got the Tigers on the board in the seventh inning with a two-run home run. This was Gimblet’s first career homer.
However, a lack of offensive production hurt the Tigers in a 5-2 loss to the Huskies.
Sophomore pitcher Dean Stramara took the loss as he surrendered five runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings of work.
In game two, the Tigers scored in the second inning as redshirt senior infielder Colin Dyer singled up the middle to score Gimblet.
Towson fell behind as the game progressed but started a comeback in the sixth inning. With the bases loaded, sophomore outfielder Cuinn Mullins drove in three runs with a base-clearing double that scored Miller, Gimblet and junior infielder Logan Burke.
Towson added another run in the eighth inning after a sacrifice-bunt and a pair of wild pitches allowed Miller to score. However, Towson was unable to make the comeback and fell to Northeastern 7-5.
Redshirt senior Kevin Ross (0-3) took the loss as he allowed five runs on eight hits over five innings of work.
Towson will play a pair of midweek games against George Mason and Cornell. The team will then travel to Hofstra for a three-game series April 7-9.