photo courtesy of Mark Campbell

TOWSON, MD -- Towson University pitcher Shannon Johnston fired a four-hit shutout in the opener and threw an inning of scoreless relief to pick up the win in the nightcap as the Tigers swept a doubleheader from Delaware, 1-0 and 4-3, Saturday afternoon at the Towson Center Field.

The Tigers, who improved to 24-18 overall and 7-3 in the Colonial Athletic Association, scored the only run in the opener in the bottom of the second inning. With one out Aimee Rosa singled up the middle, moved to second on a wild pitch, went to third on a groundout, and scored on a double to leftfield by Emily Gould.

That would be all Johnston would need, as she allowed just four singles and did not walk a batter while striking out six to record her second shutout of the season. Quinn Megargel went 2 for 3 while Katie Lee and Michelle Grap each added singles for the Blue Hens, who dropped to 18-16 overall and 3-8 in the conference, but Delaware did not get a batter to second base in the game.

UD starting pitcher Anne Marie Pagano fell to 10-6 after allowing one earned run on five hits while striking out four batters.

Delaware took the lead in the nightcap when Grap led of the top of the second by drilling a home run to leftfield. Grap now has a team-leading five homers this season, tying her for second place on the UD single season list and just three behind Laura Streets’ record eight homers in 2003.

The Tigers would answer in the bottom of the second, as Rosa led off with a single to left and advanced to second when Stefanie Streets reached on an error by Blue Hen pitcher Samantha Shawn. After Stephanie Fudurich singled to centerfield to load the bases, Gould lined a single to right to drive home Rosa and tie the game at 1-1. Meaghan Clark then singled to left to plate Streets, and Fudurich scored when Kim Lempa reached on an error by UD shortstop Kim Ovittore. The Tigers still had the bases loaded with nobody out, but Shawn got out of the jam without allowing another run.

Towson maintained its 3-1 lead until the top of the sixth, when Cecile Egan (at right) led off the inning by hitting a home run to leftfield, her first career round-tripper. Katie DeSalvo then reached on an error by Towson second baseman Mindy Bean, and she moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Lee. After DeSalvo stole third base, Megargel hit a sacrifice fly to rightfield to plate DeSalvo with the tying run.

The Blue Hens had a chance to regain the lead in the top of the seventh as Grap led off with a walk and Jessica Kozlowski reached on an error by Streets at third base on a sacrifice bunt. The runners moved to second and third on a sacrifice bunt by Allison Borchers, but Johnston got Caitlin Smith to ground out back to the circle and retired Egan on a flyball to left to keep the game tied at 3-3.

Shawn retired the first two Tigers in the bottom of the seventh, but Nina Navarro was hit by a pitch and went to second on a single to left by Rosa. Streets then followed with a single to right, driving home Navarro with the game-winning run.

Johnston improved to 12-8 after throwing a scoreless inning of relief, while Towson starter Claire Reitmann-Grout gave up three runs, two earned, on three hits in the first six innings. Shawn dropped to 8-9 for the Blue Hens after giving up four runs, three earned, on nine hits while striking out three batters.

In addition to the home runs by Grap and Egan, Lee also had a double for Delaware.

Delaware and Towson conclude their weekend series on Sunday with a single game beginning at 1 p.m.

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