TOWSON, Md. - Coming off their thrilling three-game sweep over James Madison this weekend, the Tigers (26-29, 15-15) will face the University of Delaware in the opening round of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament at Veterans Memorial Park in Harrisonburg, Va. on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.
The sixth-seeded Tigers will be playing the third-seeded Blue Hens (27-25, 17-13) in a first round game after fourth-seeded George Mason plays fifth-seeded Virginia Commonwealth at 12 noon. The loser of the first two games will play an elimination game on Wednesday, May 23 at 6:00 p.m.
Making their first appearance in the CAA Tournament since 2008, the Tigers came up with a sweep over JMU to earn the number six seed in the tournament. After winning the first two games of the series against the Dukes, the Tigers had to come from behind to win the season finale, 5-4 in ten innings.
With only four seniors on the roster, the Tigers will be bringing a very young team to the CAA Tournament.
"We came up with some clutch hitting and some clutch pitching to get into the tournament," says Coach Mike Gottlieb. "This was a complete team effort. Everyone contributed. With some of the injuries that we had on the pitching staff, we needed some people to give us something extra."
Junior righthander Michael Trionfo has been the Tigers' top starting pitcher, posting a 10-3 record with a 3.34 E.R.A. The CAA leader in victories, he also broke the school record for wins in a season.
The Tigers played Delaware in late March and won two of three games against the Blue Hens in a very low-scoring series.
