When I previewed the Tigers’ game earlier this week against University of Maryland Eastern Shore, I mentioned how fun it has been for me to learn a little bit about all of the schools Towson has played this season. I love history and trivia, and I’ve been able to turn up some interesting little nugget about each of the Tigers’ opponents. Well, as you may have guessed, this is where I write, “Until now.”
Maybe I’m just tired (I am), or maybe I should do more research than reading a Wikipedia page (I should), but I can’t find one interesting thing about the University of North Carolina Wilmington. I don’t say that to disparage the place. I’m sure you can get a great education there. It’s, um, really big. Hey, it’s not in Delaware, so it’s got that going for it! (What do I have against Delaware anyway?) Why the heck are they called the Seahawks? Isn’t that what they call osprey on the west coast? Don’t we call them osprey over here on the best coast? I’m so confused.
Let’s get on to the baseball.
Basically me writing this right now.
This weekend will be a tall test for Towson. The Seahawks…ok, sure, Seahawks…are 22-14 this season and a robust 15-8 at home. Only two of their regulars are hitting over .300, but both of those are up around .360; junior catcher Ryan Jeffers (.362/.491/.748, 11 home runs, 36 RBI) and senior first baseman Mason Berne (.361/.453/.617, 8 home runs, 35 RBI) are a truly formidable tandem in the heart of the UNCW batting order. Shortstop Greg Jones, a 6′ 2″, 175 lb freshman, is a solid table setter at the top of the order, with an on-base percentage over .380 and 10 stolen bases in 14 attempts. Beyond that trio, there is a steady stream of solid college hitters. This is probably the best offense the Tigers have faced this season.
On the other side, this might be the best pitching Towson batters have faced this year. As a team, the Seahawks – oh, seriously guys, you’re using teal and navy, too?? – have a 3.23 ERA and strike out over a batter per inning, while holding opponents to a .221 batting average. Those numbers are even scarier in conference play (2.77 ERA, 92 strikeouts in 78 innings, .190 BA allowed), yet they are only 5-4 against the Colonial Athletic Association. The Tigers are going to have to play smart, make the right decisions with the ball, and probably hope baseball finally baseballs in their favor for once this season. Fortunately, they have several batters peaking at the right time, including Billy Lennox, Richard Miller, and Craig Alleyne.
The Watch List
Richie Palacios, SS – .370↑/.491↑/.652↑, 135 AB, 41 R, 8 HR, 14 2B, 29RBI, 18-18 SB. Richie has been on fire and will need to continue leading the offense if Towson wants to score some runs this weekend. Plus, besides the obvious – and important – team considerations, I have to think there will be a few scouts in attendance at these games and a big weekend could propel the shortstop further up the MLB draft rankings.
Dirk Masters, 2B – .293↑/.420↑/.315↑, 92 AB, 14 R, 7 RBI, 3-3 SB. Masters has been pretty darn warm himself, raising his batting average by twenty-seven points and his on-base percentage by thirty-one points in the last week.
David Marriggi, P – 2-4, 4.13 ERA↑, 52.1 IP, 27 BB, 47 K. Marriggi is coming off his best start of the season, throwing seven shutout innings. UNCW is a heavily right-handed hitting team, so the senior lefty will have to be on top of his game.
Michael Adams, P – 3-3, 3.70 ERA↑, 56.0 IP, 21 BB, 61 K. Adams will get the platoon advantage versus the (sigh) Seahawks. A big game from the big right-hander – and this goes for Marriggi, as well – could go a long way towards putting him on teams; radar as possible draft prospects. I have no doubt these guys will be pitching for their teammates first and foremost, but for lowly bloggers (and fans) like me, these are things to think about.
More Info
Pitching match-ups, series history, and more can be found here. All three games should be streaming online. I’m not sure I’ll be able to do individual game previews and recaps this weekend, but you can follow me on Twitter if you’re at all curious about my thoughts and observations, or just, you know, wanna chat.
Musical Finale
Guess what, there are surprisingly few songs about seahawks – or osprey – but I did find one about Wilmington. And it’s actually pretty good!
