Towson Tigers Weekend 14 Preview

Well, here we are, the final series of the 2018 Towson baseball season, though perhaps the first to be played completely underwater. The first game, scheduled for yesterday, has already been cancelled and today’s game has been moved up to beat even more rain expected in the Baltimore area tonight. Tomorrow’s contest, the final of the season and Senior Day, is definitely in jeopardy as well, so stay tuned to Twitter and Towson’s website for scheduling info.

With yesterday’s rainout, combined with a William & Mary loss to Elon, Towson is assured of not finishing in the Colonial Athletic Association basement. If the Tigers could win both of the last two games, they would actually tie their final opponent, James Madison University, in the conference standings. Depending on how other games go, those teams (Towson, JMU, and William & Mary) would end up being the only CAA teams to finish with a losing conference record. It was a deep, competitive conference field this year.

JMU came into this weekend on a two game winning streak. Prior to that, however, the Dukes had lost seven straight and 10 of 11 games. On offense they are basically on par with the Tigers, hitting for a little more average and slugging, but still scoring slightly fewer runs than Towson, albeit in three fewer games. They strikeout quite a bit, which Towson does not, and walk somewhat rarely, which Towson does do well (second in the CAA coming into the weekend). So the bats, much like the weather, are a wash.

Play ball!

On the mound, JMU is also pretty middle-of-the-road, but we’re not going to do the comparison thing because, well, you know. OK, maybe a little. The Tigers did tie the Dukes in homers allowed (26 apiece) and had more shutouts (2 to 1 – those are totals, not a ratio) and fewer balks (4 to 6). So, hey, it’s not all bad!

Off the field, James Madison University sounds like it should be one of the United States’ oldest, prestigious centers of higher education, but having been established in 1908, it is actually 40 some-odd years newer than Towson. Both institutions were started as “normal” schools, specializing in the training of teachers, which both still do at a high level to this day. So, basically, this is a pretty even match-up all the way around.

Roster Note

I wanted to take a moment to mention that I apparently made a mistake in some of my assumptions about the Towson roster this year (image that). Four players who I have repeatedly referred to as juniors, and have mentioned as returning next year, are, in-fact, redshirt juniors – aka, academic seniors. That means, unless they decide to pull a Gimblet and come back for a fifth season, all of Mark Grunberg, Chris Ruszin, Mason Anderson, and Alex Cuas will play their final games for the Tigers this weekend. Grunberg and Cuas, in particular, I thought would play major roles on next year’s team, but that no longer appears to be the case. Best of luck to all of these guys in everything they do going forward.

This obviously changes the make-up of the 2019 Towson squad quite a bit. It will still (at least at this time) feature a number of seniors, notably Dean Stramara, Gavin Weyman, Joe Enea, Richard Miller, Trey Martinez, and Craig Alleyne, but only five juniors and six sophomores. By my count, that is only 17-18 returning players who got playing time this year, leaving room for a large class of freshmen and transfers. So keep an eye on this page, where I will track the incoming commits.

The Watch List

Richie Palacios, SS – .305↓/.456↓/.519↓, 187 AB, 54 R, 8 HR, 16 2B, 30 RBI, 24-25 SB. I don’t imagine anything Palacios does this weekend will effect his draft status, assuming that he does, indeed, go pro after this season. He has had a remarkable season and career at Towson and, as basically the reason that I started following this team, will always have a special place in my baseball heart. One thing I would love to see him do in these last couple of games is hit a triple, because it’s almost inconceivable to me that he doesn’t have one this year.

Dirk Masters, 2B – .244↓/.373↓/.267↓, 131 AB, 17 R, 8 RBI, 4-4 SB. The mission for Masters this offseason should be to get a little stronger, both to withstand some of the nagging injuries that seem to have caused missed games here and there, and to add just a little pop to the bat. The defense is excellent and a little extra athleticism could make it special.

David Marriggi, P – 3-7, 5.09 ERA↓, 75.1 IP, 40 BB, 62 K. Marriggi started every game he pitched in this year and for most of the season was a rock. He set career highs in pretty much every statistical category. Guys with worse stats have been drafted, so who knows. Left-handers seem to get extra chances.

Michael Adams, P – 3-7, 6.46 ERA↓, 71 IP, 41 BB, 75 K. Like I mentioned in my last post, there was a point this year where it looked like Adams had put it all together. If the right scout saw him at that time, again, who knows. There are lots of rounds in the draft. Adams struck out more than a batter per inning this year and has limited walks in his two years at Towson, but has allowed a lot of hits. Would moving to the bullpen allow his stuff to play up?

More Info

Pitching match-ups, series history, and more can be found here.  Depending on weather, the games could be streaming online. I will share info on Twitter as it becomes available.

Musical Finale

Since we’re playing the Dukes (if you get it, then you get it)…