HARRISONBURG, Va. - The Tigers' magical ride through the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament will continue this afternoon when the fourth-seeded Tigers play for the CAA championship at 4:30 p.m.
The only unbeaten team remaining in the CAA Tournament field, the Tigers await the winner of today's 1:00 elimination game between second-seeded William & Mary (36-21) and fifth-seeded Northeastern (32-24). Last night, Northeastern eliminated top-seeded UNC Wilmington in 11 innings, 5-4.
Towson is seeking its first-ever CAA championship in baseball this afternoon. Towson has made four previous appearances in the CAA Tournament and reached the championship round in 2005 and 2008. However, the Tigers came back through the loser's bracket each time. In 2005, Towson fell to Virginia Commonwealth. In 2008, the Tigers lost to James Madison.
This is the first time that Towson has reached the championship round undefeated since 1999 when the Tigers were members of America East. In 1999, Delaware came back and beat Towson twice to claim the conference title.
The Tigers are seeking their first conference championship since 1991 when they won the East Coast Conference title as the number three seed. In 1991, the Tigers beat Delaware (25-5), UMBC (14-9) and Rider (5-4) to win their second ECC title in four years.
For Coach Mike Gottlieb, it has been a team effort as the Tigers' offense has come to life. In tournament wins over Northeastern, UNC Wilmington and William & Mary, the Tigers have a 419 team batting average with 42 runs scored. The Tigers have a .504 on-base percentage and they have hit nine doubles, three triples and nine home runs.
The Tigers have also been very solid defensively with a .975 fielding percentage. Towson has turned four double plays in three games, including clutch ninth inning twin-killings against UNCW and William & Mary.
Senior catcher Andrew Parker has led the offensive assault. He is batting .667 and has scored five runs. He has two doubles, two home runs and six runs batted in. In addition, he drawn two walks and has reached base when hit by a pitch three times. He enters today's game with a .733 on-base percentage and a 1.556 slugging percentage.
Third baseman Zach Fisher leads the Tigers with three homers and nine RBI's. He is hitting .500 in the tournament and seems like a sure pick to earn all-tournament honors for the second year in a row. Fisher has also scored five runs.
Junior centerfielder Brandon Gonnella, who had four hits against William & Mary on Friday, is hitting .556 in the tournament with four RBI's. Junior rightfielder Dominic Fratantuono has a .545 batting average with one homer and six RBI's.
Sophomore first baseman Brendan Butler is coming off an impressive performance against William & Mary on Friday when he drove in a career high six runs. Butler is batting .429 in the tournament.
The winner of the William & Mary-Northeastern game will have to beat Towson twice to win the CAA championship. If Towson loses this afternoon, the Tigers will play for the CAA title on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
