Mount St. Mary's (17-16) vs. Towson (17-19)
Wednesday, April 22, 2009, 4 p.m.
E.T. Straw Family Stadium, Emmitsburg, Md.

Mount Update...The Mount is coming off a four-game sweep of Fairleigh Dickinson this past weekend. With the sweep, the Mount moved into first place in the Northeast Conference with a 17-16 overall mark and a 9-3 record in the league. Closer Mike Matta earned two wins and two saves to lead the Mount over the weekend while shortstop Jacob Darr went 7-for-8 at the plate in the Mount's doubleheader sweep on Saturday.

About the Tigers...Towson lost two of three games to William & Mary this past weekend to fall to 17-19 overall and 5-7 in the CAA. Gary Helmick leads the Tigers with a .415 average, 49 runs scored and 11 home runs. Matt Collins (.369, 35 RBI) and Steve Yarsinsky (.344, 33 runs) are the next two top hitters. Towson has hit 59 home runs on the year and have six players with six or more home runs. On the mound, reliever Josh Squatrito is 4-1 with four saves and a team-best 3.91 ERA in 14 appearances. Tyler Austin is 2-1 with a 5.45 ERA and 35 strikeouts.

The All-Time Series...Towson holds a 14-2 advantage in the all-time series since the Mount moved to Division I in 1989. The Tigers won the first 11 meetings and have won two straight since the Mount's last win, a 9-4 victory on March 1, 2006, at Towson. The Mount is 1-6 all-time at home against Towson, falling 9-3 in 11 innings in the home game between the teams on April 11, 2007.

At the Straw...The Mount swept Fairleigh Dickinson over the weekend to move to 13-4 at home this season, including a perfect 8-0 in conference play.
* The 13 home wins are tied for the second-most in the Mount's Division I history (since 1989).
* The school record for home wins is 15 set by the 2007 squad. The Mount went 15-9 that year at Straw Family Stadium.
* The Mount has recorded double figures in wins at home just four times since 1989: 15-9 (2007), 13-4 (2009), 13-12 (2002) and 11-6 (2004).

More Home Cooking...The Mount is hitting a robust .330 at home this season while averaging 7.76 runs per game. Shane Eyler is hitting .407 at home this year with seven home runs and 25 RBI. Alex Andrews (.407), Joe Kavanagh (.405), Tommy Flynn (.393), Matt Staso (.364), Jacob Darr (.354), Josh Winter (.349) and Kyle Kane (.340) are all posting big numbers at home as well. The Mount has hit 22 of its 27 home runs this year at Straw Family Stadium.

Eyler Enjoying Breakout Season...Sophomore right fielder Shane Eyler is enjoying a breakout season for the Mount. Eyler is hitting .368 with 10 home runs and 34 RBI on the year. He is tied for the NEC lead in home runs (10), fifth in batting (.368), tied for ninth in hits (42), third in RBI (34), tied for second in total bases (80), 10^th in on-base percentage (.433) and second in slugging percentage (.702). Eyler is hitting .396 with eight home runs and 24 RBI over the past 15 games.

Kane Cleaning Up...Sophomore catcher/designated hitter Kyle Kane has carried a hot bat as well for the Mount. The Mount's cleanup hitter, Kane is hitting .422 with four home runs, 17 RBI and 18 runs scored over the past 15 games. For the season, Kane is second on the team with a .349 average with five home runs, 28 RBI and 28 runs scored. He is fifth in the Northeast Conference with a .447 on-base percentage and 19 walks.

Feigl, Brittenham Racking Up the K's...Junior righthander Max Brittenham and freshman lefty Brady Feigl are currently tied for fourth in the Northeast Conference with 41 strikeouts. Brittenham struck out eight batters in his last start against FDU while Feigl posted a career-best 11 strikeouts in the Mount's 3-1 loss to Long Island.

Staso's Steady Contributions...Senior left fielder Matt Staso has been a consistent performer all season for head coach Scott Thomson. Staso, who has hit in six different spot in the lineup on the year, is hitting .317 with 29 runs scored and 26 RBI on the year. He is tied for fifth in the NEC in runs scored and is tied for seventh with 10 doubles. Staso is hitting .421 over the past five games.

Jacob's Ladder...Junior Jacob Darr has given the Mount lineup a boost of late. Darr, who went 7-for-8 in the Mount's doubleheader sweep of FDU, is hitting .373 with five doubles and 12 RBI over the past 15 games. Darr is hitting .308 with 23 runs scored, 23 RBI and 10 doubles on the season. His walk-off double gave the Mount an 8-7 victory in game two of the FDU series.

Andrews Makes First Home Run Count...Sophomore catcher Alex Andrews made his first collegiate home run one to remember. Andrews cracked a three-run walk-off homer off the left-field foul pole to lift the Mount to a dramatic 13-10 win over Quinnipiac in the second game of a twinbill on April 4. After hitting just .155 last year as a freshman for the Mount, Andrews is hitting .333 with a home run and 12 RBI this season.

Break Out the Brooms...The Mount has produced a pair of four-game sweeps at home this season in NEC play. The Mount opened conference play with a four-game sweep of Quinnipiac before adding another four-game home sweep this past weekend against FDU. The Mount has five four-game sweeps since the NEC moved to a four-game series in 2007. The Mount had three four-game sweeps (at Wagner, at Long Island, Fairleigh Dickinson) in 2007 when the Mount tied for first in the NEC regular season. Since joining the NEC, the Mount has had eight sweeps of three games or more, including three-games sweeps of FDU in 1991 and 1995 and a three-game sweep of St. Francis (N.Y.) in 2006.

Building a Program...Head coach Scott Thomson has built the Mount into an annual contender in the Northeast Conference. The Mountaineers have posted a winning NEC record in each of the past four seasons, topped by the 2007's team that went 21-7 and earned a share of the NEC regular season crown. Prior to the previous four seasons, the Mount had recorded just one winning season since joining the NEC in 1990, an 8-7 record in 1991.

Up Next...The Mount heads to Wagner for a four-game NEC series starting on Friday, April 24, with a 3:00 p.m. game.