For four innings Gavin Weyman kept the Ohio Bobcats off the board, but they finally got to him in the fifth, scoring three runs on four hits and a sac fly. He kept the walks down, allowing two free passes, but his second hit batter of the game led off the sixth and eventually scored the final run charged to the junior right-hander. Still, for most of the game Weyman threw strikes and worked through the type of early jams that have buried Towson in other games this year. It was a start he can build on. After Weyman, Dean Stramara came on, allowing one inherited runner to score and one one of his own in the seventh, but finished strong, allowing only two baserunners the final two scoreless innings.
Almost incredibly, the Tigers hit three more batters today, bringing their season total up to 25. I have to think pitching coach Miles Miller must be working with his staff to establish the inside part of the plate. Pitching inside is one of the most difficult parts of the game. When you target the outside corner of the plate, you have a built-in margin of error – if you miss, just miss farther outside. At worst, it’s a ball; at best, the batter flails at the ball and it’s a strike or weak contact. But pitching inside is a classic case of high risk, high reward. If you can hit that inside corner, it ties the batter up and puts him off balance, sometimes literally. But if you can’t hit that spot, you miss inside for a ball, miss really inside and hit the guy, or miss over the plate and it gets hammered. Anyway, I think there must be a method to this madness.
Offensively, a second inning run gave Towson an early lead, but they wouldn’t score again until the eighth. Charlie Watters and Dirk Masters were basically the offense, the latter driving in the former twice. But, the two through five spots in the line-up went 1-18 and it’s difficult to score runs like that. Nothing to do but move on and try to get ’em tomorrow.
The Watch List
Richie Palacios, SS – 0-4, 1 walk. Palacios went hitless for the second game in a row, but has still reached base in every game this season.
Andrew Cassard, OF – 2-5. Batting lead-off for the third game in a row, the sophomore outfielder reached base twice.
Dirk Masters, 2B – 2-3, 1 walk, 2 RBI. Masters is making me look good. After a slow start to the season, the redshirt freshman has hit in five straight and six of seven games. If he keeps this up, I could see a move higher up in the line-up to get more at bats.
Bo Plagge, DH – 0-5. Not much to talk about here.
David Marriggi, P – DNP. Marriggi is slated to start tomorrow’s game.
More Info
David Marriggi starts tomorrow at 1 P.M. I’ll have a separate post for that game. In the meantime, in the interest of giving credit where credit is due, here are the Ohio Players.
