NEWARK, DE -- The Towson University baseball team used a five-run seventh inning on its way to a 9-3 Colonial Athletic Association victory over the University of Delaware on Saturday afternoon at Bob Hannah Stadium.

Senior co-captain Bryan Hagerich (at right) went 4-4, scored twice and hit his first home run of the season for the Hens (0-7, 0-1 CAA), while Gary Helmick had three hits and scored twice for the Tigers (4-7, 1-0 CAA).

The Tigers put up single runs in each of the first three innings and held a 3-1 advantage over the Hens heading to the bottom of the sixth inning.

Hagerich led off the stanza with a base hit, and Ryan Cuneo’s single put runners at the corners with no outs. Scott Shockley then singled through the right side to bring in Hagerich. After Dan Richardson’s infield single loaded the bases, a walk from Kyle Davis made the score 3-3. New Tigers pitcher Tyler Travis entered the game with the bases loaded and no one out. The first batter he faced, Ryan Jablonski, flied out to leftfield and then Travis induced a double play ground ball from Brandon Menchaca to end the inning.

After Travis’ escape act in the sixth, the Tigers went to work offensively in the top of the seventh. After loading the bases themselves with no outs, Brian Conley’s sacrifice fly brought in the go-ahead run. Towson then put together three singles around a fielder’s choice before Kyle Skellchock’s double down the leftfield line brought in the fifth Tiger run of the inning for an 8-3 lead.

Travis earned the win for Towson with four innings of scoreless relief in which he allowed only one runner to reach base. Brad Miller took the loss for the Hens to fall to 0-1.

In game two, the Hens battled back from a 7-3 deficit in the bottom of the sixth to take an 8-7 lead before Towson tied the game in the top half of the seventh. After the Blue Hen seventh, the game was suspended due to darkness and will be finished Sunday at 1 p.m. before the start of the series’ final game.

Boxscore