ELON, N.C. – The Elon softball team will continue with Southern Conference play this weekend with its first away series of the season at UNCG. The Phoenix and Spartans will play a doubleheader on Saturday, March 17, beginning at 1 p.m. and close out the series at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 18. All games will be played at UNCG Softball Field.
A Look at the Phoenix (14-4, 3-0 SoCon)
Elon is a perfect 3-0 in SoCon play after a series against Furman last weekend. The Phoenix struggled against in-state opponent North Carolina on Wednesday in a 6-0 loss. Tomeka Watson is leading the maroon and gold at the plate, batting .389 and scoring 20 runs. Erin O’Shea has pushed 16 runs across the plate and holds a 2.62 ERA with an 8-2 record. Elon is hitting .294 and holding its opponents to a .224 batting average.
Scouting UNCG (8-16, 2-1 SoCon)
The Spartans own a current record of 8-16 with a 2-1 SoCon record. UNCG opened conference play against Appalachian State last weekend, scoring 16 runs in its two wins. The team dropped a doubleheader against Virginia Tech on Wednesday by scores of 3-0 and 8-4. UNCG’s first baseman Alex Emeterio is hitting .368 after 21 hits in 57 at-bats. Corey Mattson has started 10 games in the circle for the Spartans and holds a 5-8 record with a 4.03 ERA.
The Bocock Box
Interim head coach Kathy Bocock holds a 14-4 record at the helm of the Elon program. She holds a 250-398 career coaching record.
The Series
The Phoenix and the Spartans have met 55 times prior to this weekend with the series tied 27-27-1. Elon swept UNCG last year in the final SoCon series of the season. After a 15-0 win for the maroon and gold in the first game of the doubleheader, Jackie Gonzalez ripped a one-out walk-off triple in the bottom of the eighth for a 1-0 Elon win. The Phoenix completed the sweep the next day with a 7-0 victory.
Stop, Thief!
The Phoenix has stolen a total of 36 bases in 44 attempts so far this season. Elon’s opponents have only attempted to take 14 bases in the maroon and gold’s 18 games, succeeding only 11 times.
Best of the Best
The NCAA released its first Division I statistics rankings for the 2012 season on Monday. Watson is ranked the hardest player in DI to strikeout after 51 at bats and no strikeouts, while she and Camille Hill are tied at 21st in runs per game with 1.18. Elon ranks in the top 50 out of the 283 DI teams in several categories. The Phoenix is sixth in double plays per game (0.59) and 15th in stolen bases per game (2.12). The maroon and gold also ranks 50th in team batting (.303), 48th in team ERA (2.25) and 30th in scoring (6.06).
On Deck
Elon returns home to East Field next weekend for a conference series with Samford. The doubleheader is set for a 1 p.m. start on Saturday, March 24, followed by the final game on Sunday, March 15, at 1 p.m.