Elon’s Mitchum Takes CAA Softball Weekly Honor

RICHMOND, Va. – Junior Kiandra Mitchum of the Elon University softball team was named the Colonial Athletic Association Pitcher of the Week as announced by the league office on Monday morning, March 13.

It’s the first weekly honor of the season for Mitchum and the Phoenix and the second CAA pitching weekly award overall for the Mechanicsville, Va., native. For Mitchum, the lefty had an incredible week to help the maroon and gold to five wins including an unblemished mark at its home tournament, the Elon Phoenix Tournament.

Mitchum posted a 4-1 ledger and added a save as the Phoenix went 5-1 last week. She twice set a new career-high in strikeouts with 11 versus Fairleigh Dickinson on March 10 and March 12, becoming the first Elon pitcher with a double-digit strikeout performance since 2011. She also had a complete-game shutout win versus the Knights on Sunday, March 12, and held Presbyterian to no hits, no earned runs and six strikeouts in four innings on March 11. She later earned the save against Norfolk State on March 11.

She finished the week with a 1.84 ERA and struck out 35 batters in 26.2 innings. During the Elon Phoenix Tournament, Mitchum posted a 0.31 ERA in 22.2 innings, allowed just one earned run with 35 strikeouts as the Phoenix extending its win streak to a season-long five games.

Elon competes next at Charlotte on Wednesday, March 15, for only its second true road contest of the season. That game is slated for a 4:30 p.m. start.