Elon Phoenix Baseball to Visit Wofford in Weekend Set

ELON, N.C. – Elon will play its fifth Southern Conference baseball series of the year when the Phoenix visits Wofford for a three-game set starting with a 6 p.m. game on Friday evening. The series will continue with a 3 p.m. game on Saturday and a 1 p.m. contest on Sunday.

Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday
Elon – RH Lucas Bakker (5-1, 1.77 ERA)
Wofford – RH Luke Leftwich (3-3, 4.14 ERA)

Saturday
Elon – RH Michael Elefante (5-1, 3.43 ERA)
Wofford – RH Jesse Morris (6-3, 5.31 ERA)

Sunday
Elon – TBA
Wofford – TBA

Inside the Series
In 50 all-time meetings, Elon boasts a 38-12 record against Wofford on the diamond. The two programs firt met in 1913 when Elon won both meetings. Since joining the SoCon for the 2004 season, the Phoenix is 24-7 against the Terriers.

Overall: Elon leads 38-12
At Elon: Elon leads 13-3
At Wofford: Elon leads 13-5
At Neutral Site: Elon leads 1-0
Last 10 Meetings: Elon leads 6-4

Countdown to 600: 598
Already Elon’s all-time winningest coach, skipper Mike Kennedy is closing in on career victory number 600. Kennedy currently has 598 wins to his credit, all in the maroon and gold.

The Streaker
Junior Casey Jones is currently in the midst of a 19-game hitting streak, the longest for the program since Alex Swim’s 25-game streak in 2012. During the streak, which began on March 9 at Coastal Carolina, Jones has gone 33-for-70 (.471) with nine doubles, two triples and two homers. He has also driven in 20 runs in that span. Jones has recorded two or more hits in 12 of the 19 games.

Elon vs. Cancer
In its third season participating in a head-shaving event to raise funds for cancer research, the Elon baseball team has raised $16,000 for The Vs. Cancer Foundation this year. It is the higest total raised by the squad in the three-year span and brings the total raised to over $40,000.

That’s 200
With its 7-5 victory in the series opener at Samford, Elon picked up its 200th Southern Conference victory since joining the league for the 2004 season.

Pitcher of the Month
Following a month in which he threw two complete games, junior righty Lucas Bakker was selected as the SoCon Pitcher of the Month for March.

Bakker was a two-time SoCon pitcher of the week in March, as he went 4-1 with a 1.18 ERA, striking out 25 and issuing just five walks. After opening the month with a loss, Bakker bounced back with 29.2 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. He started that stretch with back-to-back complete games, going the distance in a 5-2 win over Minnesota in which he allowed just five hits and struck out six, allowing two unearned runs. He followed that with a two-hit shutout of Georgia Southern, which entered the contest leading the nation with a .345 team batting average. Bakker picked up his third straight win the following week against Western Carolina, allowing just an unearned run on five hits in 7.2 innings, and closed his month with a win over The Citadel in which he went eight innings and allowed two earned runs. Bakker struck out at least five in each of his last four starts and allowed just five extra-base hits, all of which were doubles, in 38 innings. He held opposing hitters to just a .203 average in the month.

We Are Family
The 2014 Elon roster sports two pairs of brothers. Junior outfielders Quinn Bower and Blaine Bower are twins from New Cumberland, Pa. The other set of brothers are junior outfielder/first baseman Sam Paone and freshman outfielder D.J. Paone who hail from Jupiter, Fla.

Elon or the Pros?
Elon’s 2014 roster sports two players who chose to don the maroon and gold and forgo a professional career.

Sophomore left-handed pitcher Tyler Manez was picked by the Houston Astros in the 32nd round, number 969 overall, in the 2012 MLB Draft while freshman infielder Nick Zammarelli was a 28th round selection, number 833 overall, of the Boston Red Sox in the 2013 draft.

Junior college transfer Jose Lazaro was also drafted out of high school, but opted to head to college. The right-handed pitcher was a 28th round selection, number 869 overall, by the New York Yankees in the 2011 MLB draft.

30+
With its 34 wins in 2013, Elon has recorded 14 consecutive seasons with at least 30 wins. Elon has won 33, 30, 34, 34, 31, 32, 45, 32, 44, 41, 38, 36, 33 and 34 games in that span. In this time, the Phoenix has made six NCAA Division I Regional appearances (2002, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013).