A strong five-pitcher effort helped the Delaware State Hornets (23-16-1) shut down the Towson Tigers (25-27, 8-10 Colonial Athletic Association) offense on Tuesday in Dover, Del., taking the game 6-1.

“I think the lack of offense began right from the start of the day. We began the game flat and fell into a hole early,” first baseman Andrea Stevenson said. “We didn’t give ourselves a good opportunity to be successful.”

Both teams were quiet in the first inning, but the Hornets put a run on the board in the second inning.

Towson pitcher Dominique Ortega retired her first five batters, but had trouble with two outs in the second inning.

With a 1-2 count, Delaware State pitcher Casey Beighley homered to left field to give to put Towson down a run early. Beighley went 3-for-3 on the day.

Towson needed an answer to Beighley’s home run and got one in the third inning, starting with a walk by outfielder Mickelle Oslin with no outs.

After catcher Jillian Donnelly advanced Oslin to second, Stevenson drove her in with an RBI double, tying the game temporarily.

Two singles in the bottom of the frame put Delaware State in position to score, and they capitalized on the opportunity, scoring two more runs.

Breanne Parr’s RBI double to left center and Ashlyn Campbell’s RBI single aided the Hornets’ third inning rally.

The Hornets did not stop in the third inning, tallying three more runs in the fourth off of Towson relief pitcher Missy McCormick.

Delaware State’s Leslie Pleasanton singled to begin the rally and advanced to second on a wild pitch.

Later in the inning, McCormick hit Jordan Reid with a pitch, setting up a three-run home run by Stephanie Martello that gave the Hornets a 6-1 lead.

The Tigers were in need of a rally in the fifth inning, but failed to score a run with the bases loaded. Donnelly, Stevenson and second basema Haley Stueckler walked, but the rally ended on a Hailey Balk fly out to right field.

Towson had two runners on base with two outs in the seventh inning, but McCormick was caught stealing at third to end the game.

“I believe in this team and we can bounce back from this game and come out strong this weekend,” Stevenson said. “We need to show the heart that we have, this could be our final weekend if we don’t.”

Towson will travel to James Madison to play a final CAA series which may decide whether the Tigers make they qualify for the CAA playoffs.

“JMU is a team that is playing well and we need to come out this weekend a different team than we showed today,” Stevenson said.