No matter where you go, you will find people complaining about the weather, but I think people in Maryland really have a strong argument. Especially this time of year, you just don’t know what you’re going to get from week to week. Take today, for instance; in Baltimore it’s in the mid 40’s, a little cooler than the average temperature of 58°. But if you look back over the last 10 years, today’s high temperature has fluctuated between 70 and 37 degrees. When you live in Maryland you wait a few extra weeks before putting away the winter coats…but, yeah, go ahead and take out the shorts and flip flops, too.
That crazy weather threw a loop in Towson’s schedule, as their mid-week games at University of Virginia were cancelled and their weekend series was moved from Towson to Delaware. Yes, that means the weather was a little nicer in Delaware. I said it was crazy.
Delaware came into the series led by two starting pitchers, Kyle Hinton and Billy Sullivan IV, with sub-2.00 earned run averages. Disappointingly, neither disappointed, especially Sullivan IV, who pitched six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts against one walk. Finally, on Sunday, Towson broke out the bats against starter Nick Spadafino and two Blue Hen relievers and won 10-2, snapping their six game losing streak.
The Tigers are now 1-2 in conference play, tied for third place (take it where you can get it). The Colonial Athletic Association looks like it could be a slog this year, with only two teams currently under .500, but if the pitching improvements hold up and they get a little more consistency on offense, Towson could make life hard on their competition. Just get hot by tournament time, right?
Positive Pixels
- I’ll have whatever Colin Gimblet had. The senior from Forest Hills, MD is on an eight game hitting streak, batting .343 since March 13 and raising his season average by nearly a hundred points. In the series finale against Delaware, Gimblet had a game for the ages: 4 for 5, five RBI, a triple, and two stolen bases.
- Catcher Trey Martinez had a great series. First off, he caught all three games, including both games on Saturday. Then, he had hits in each game, two in each half of the doubleheader, before adding another hit, run scored, and two RBI on Sunday. Martinez has also thrown out 34.5% of stolen base attempts this season.
- Billy Lennox led off all three games against Delaware, getting on base four times, scoring twice, and knocking in a couple. Lennox, a senior infielder, has reached base in eight straight games. He doesn’t strike out often, seven times in 56 at bats this season, but neither does he take many walks. That’s not your ideal lead-off hitter, but it’s the kind of high-contact profile that can get away with it for a while.
- I wrote extensively about the pitching yesterday, so I’m just going to drop the box score for Michael Adams and Dean Stramara right here.
IP H R ER BB SO Michael Adams 8.0 5 2 2 1 10 David Marriggi 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 Nice work, fellas.
The Watch List
Richie Palacios, SS – .372↑/.510↑/.590↑, 78 AB, 25 R, 3 HR, 8 2B, 15 RBI, 9-9 SB. Another dominating weekend on offense for Palacios, who bagged another five hits in nine at bats, walking four times and striking out only once the entire series. Despite hitting a double in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, the power has left the shortstop’s game to an extent and he only has two extra base hits in his last 13 games. So, there are somethings still for him to work on. Which is fine, because what fun is perfection?
Andrew Cassard, OF – .254↓/.365↓/.270↓, 63 AB, 12 R, 6 RBI. The young outfielder only appeared in the series opener, going 0-3 with two strikeouts, walking once and scoring a run. Strikeouts are suddenly becoming a concern for Cassard, as he has K’d in seven straight games. Hopefully a couple of games off can metaphorically recharge his proverbial batteries and he can figuratively come back on fire.
Dirk Masters, 2B – .283↓/.421↓/.304↓, 46 AB, 6 R, 3 RBI, 2-2 SB. Masters returned to the lineup, playing all three games against Delaware. He only had two hits in 11 at bats, with one walk and one strikeout, but just getting back into games is the important part. Masters still hasn’t committed an error this season.
Bo Plagge, OF/DH – .267/.405/.467, 4 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI. DNP
Bo Plagge, P – 8.53 ERA, 12.2 IP, 11 BB, 12 K. DNP. My understanding is that Plagge would have started one of the midweek games against Virginia that were cancelled, so it’s probably a safe bet that he appears in this weeks game at George Washington, either starting or relieving.
David Marriggi, P – 4.18 ERA↑, 32.1 IP, 20 BB, 32 K. For the second straight start, Marriggi pitched into the seventh, this time going 6.2 innings and allowing only two earned runs. That’s another quality start! He only struck out five, compared to nine last time out, but did a much better job limiting hard contact. He gave up five hits, one for extra bases, and only walked two. Assuming he starts again on Saturday I am going to make every effort to finally watch him in person.
Up Next
- Wednesday, March 28, 3:00 P.M. at George Washington University.
- Friday-Sunday, March 30-31, April 1, versus Hofstra University at Schuerholz Park. Friday’s game is a 3:00 P.M. start, both weekend games begin at 1:00 P.M.
- Both of these teams will pose stern challenges for the Tigers. I am especially intrigued by Hofstra starter John Rooney, a 6′ 5″ junior who has posted a 1.91 ERA in five starts, striking out 43 and walking 11 in 33 innings.
