ELON, N.C. – In a matchup of longtime Triad and former conference rivals, the Elon University softball team heads down I-40 for a three-game series versus UNCG beginning with a single game on Friday, March 17, at 4:30 p.m. The series concludes on Saturday, March 18, with a doubleheader starting a 2 p.m. at UNCG Softball Stadium.
Follow the Phoenix
Fans can keep up with the action of the Phoenix all season via live stats from the program’s schedule page at elonphoenix.com. Updates will also be provided on Twitter on @elonscores or the program’s handle, @ElonUSoftball. The game will also be streamed online on YouTube on UNCG’s athletic channel.
Inside the Series
Entering the weekend, Elon and UNCG have squared off on the softball diamond 73 times since beginning competition in the fastpitch era in 1990. The Spartans hold a 38-34-1 advantage all-time over the maroon and gold, but both squads have split the last four meetings overall. The Phoenix won the most recent contest last season in Elon with a 1-0 shutout victory.
Leading Off for Elon
• Elon (15-8) closed out its 10-game homestand last weekend with a 5-0 ledger at its home tournament, the Elon Phoenix Tournament. The maroon and gold twice defeated Fairleigh Dickinson and Norfolk State while also snagging a victory over Presbyterian at the tournament.
• The Phoenix had a monster weekend to extend its win streak to a season-high five games. Elon batted .325 while outscoring its opponents 33-8. Elon’s pitching staff posted a 1.44 ERA in the five games.
• Junior Kiandra Mitchum recorded a 4-0 ledger and a save over the weekend while twice striking out a career-best 11 batters in both contests versus Fairleigh Dickinson. The Mechanicsville, Va., native was named the Colonial Athletic Association Pitcher of the Week on Monday, March 13 after ending the week with a 1.84 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 26.2 innings.
• Senior Carey Million had a great weekend overall at the plate last week. The Roebling, N.J., native batted .615 (8-for-13) in the batter’s box while driving in nine RBI and posting a .692 slugging percentage.
• For the second straight season, Elon will have a former UNCG Spartan as a member of its coaching staff. Former UNCG softball standout Nicole Thomas (2012-16) joined the Phoenix staff as a volunteer assistant this season after a career in which she was a three-time NFCA All Mideast Region selection and a three-time Southern Conference first team pick.
• Elon concluded its 10-game homestand with an 8-2 record and improved to 15-3 overall this season at Hunt Softball Park. With 12 home games remaining on its schedule, the Phoenix will look its best record ever at the five-year facility which was 20-6 in 2015.
• Beginning with its three-game series this weekend at UNCG, Elon starts a nine-game road swing which includes trips to East Carolina, North Carolina A&T and its CAA series opener at College of Charleston on March 25-26.
• As a program, Elon has won 895 games all-time since beginning competition in 1977. Recently, the maroon and gold celebrated its 700th victory as a program at the fastpitch level.
Scouting the Phoenix
The Phoenix will look for its first win of any kind this season outside of Hunt Softball Park this weekend. Elon has only played one true road game this season, a 6-2 setback at North Carolina on Feb. 15. Last season, the Phoenix was 4-9 overall on the road.
As a unit, the Phoenix enters the weekend with a .283 team average in the batter’s box, which is third in the CAA. Elon also ranks third in the league in on-base percentage (.374), runs scored (105), hits (158), RBI (92) and is second in doubles (27) and triples (five). After batting .615 in the Phoenix’s six games last week, Million raised her batting averaged to a team-best .404 and leads the CAA with 22 RBI. She is one of four players hitting .300 or better in the Phoenix’s lineup along with Hall (.385), Kara Shutt (.318) and Erica Serafini (.310).
The Phoenix pitching staff has a 3.09 ERA, which is third in the CAA. Mitchum is second overall in the league with 71 strikeouts and 69.1 innings. Overall, she leads the team with an 8-4 record with a pair of saves and has a 2.94 ERA. Rookie Kenna Quinn is fourth in the CAA with a 2.93 ERA.
Scouting the Spartans
UNCG sits with a 14-9 record as the Spartans enter their matchup versus crosstown rival North Carolina A&T on Thursday, March 16. The Spartans went 2-2 last weekend at its home tournament and is 5-4 overall at home this season. This season, UNCG was picked tied for third in the 2017 SoCon Preseason Poll.
Offensively, UNCG is batting .244 on the year with one regular, Emily Acquaviva, batting over .300 with her team-best .344 average. She is one of five players with 10 or more RBI as the Spartans have driven in 107 runs as a team while scoring 118 runs compared to 113 for its opponents.
In the circle, 2017 SoCon Preseason Pitcher of the Year Alicia Bazonski leads the Spartans with 91.2 innings pitched and a 9-6 record overall with a 3.89 ERA. She has also struck out 56 batters toeing the rubber as UNCG has an overall staff ERA of 4.26 with 82 strikeouts.
On Deck
Elon continues its road trip with an intrastate trip to East Carolina next Wednesday, March 22. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.