ELON, N.C. – In its final home series of the 2014 season, the Elon University softball team welcomes Southern Conference foe Samford to Hunt Softball Park for a three-game slate this weekend, April 26-27. The Phoenix will also honor its six-person senior class of Amanda Allen, Karen Berna, Ali Ford, Lauren Oldham, Carleigh Nester and Johanna Spencer.
Live Coverage
Fans can follow the Phoenix via live stats by going to the Elon softball schedule page at elonphoenix.com. Phoenix All-Access will stream every game of the series free of charge to all viewers. Alex Simon will have the call in both games of the doubleheader on Saturday while Matt Krause and Thomas McGuire will provide the play-by-play on Sunday. Twitter updates will also be provided the handle @ElonScores or @ElonUSoftball.
Day in The Park
On Saturday, the Phoenix will host Day in The Park with raffle drawings and other games being played outside of Hunt Softball Park. Members of the 2014 SoCon champion women’s tennis team will also be on hand to throw out the first pitch on Saturday.
Series History
Going into the weekend, the Phoenix and the Bulldogs have faced each other 15 times on the diamond dating back to 2002 in the fast-pitch era. Samford holds a 10-5 advantage over the Phoenix all-time, winning two out of three in the series last year in Birmingham, Ala. Samford also eliminated Elon from the SoCon Tournament last season, 8-0.
Last Time Out
Elon got back on the winning track on Wednesday, April 23, with a 7-2 victory at home over North Carolina Central. After an early 2-0 deficit after the top of the third inning, the Phoenix scored five unanswered runs over the next two innings. Junior Aly Quintana had a three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth to break a 2-2 tie and also scored two runs in the contest.
Scouting the Phoenix (22-23-1, 4-11 SoCon)
This weekend’s series will pit the top two home run hitting teams of the SoCon against each other. The Phoenix increased its league-leading home run total to 48 after Wednesday’s contest versus N.C. Central, six more than second-place Samford, who has 42. The Phoenix currently has three players in the top-10 in home runs in the SoCon with Carleigh Nester (third, 12), Grace Eng (sixth, eight) and Emily Cameron (seventh, seven).
Speaking of Nester, the Kernersville, N.C., native still needs two homers to move past All-American Tomeka Watson (2010-13) for the most in school history. Nester is currently sitting on 33 in her career, one shy of Watson’s program record of 34.
Junior Chelsea White picked up her team-high 10th win of the season on Wednesday after allowing two runs in 4.0 innings versus the Lady Eagles. Caitlin O’Shea earned her second save of the season, the most in a single-season since 2012 when her older sister Erin achieved the that mark. Caitlin O’Shea also moved into a tie for third all-time in saves with Kari Pervell (2010-13) at Elon with three in her career.
Scouting Samford (32-13, 8-6 SoCon)
After a being tabbed sixth by the league coaches in the 2014 SoCon Preseason Poll, Samford is currently fourth in the conference with an 8-6 record. Third-year head coach Mandy Burford’s program has made a 15-game improvement in 2014 after coming off a 17-35 campaign in 2013.
The Bulldogs rank among the top offensive teams in the conference, leading the league in runs scored (251) and RBI (236) and second in average (.288), slugging percentage (.444) and on-base percentage (.367).
Four players are hitting .300 or better in the Bulldogs regular lineup with Megan Dowdy leading the way at .338 and a team-high 52 hits. Abby Adams has a team-best 12 homers on the year while hitting .317 and is one of five players with 20 RBI or more on the squad with 33.
In the circle, Mollie Hanson is among the best in the league in ERA with 1.36 and a 20-7 record while pitching 149.2 innings in 2014. Four other pitchers have seen time toeing the rubber for Samford this season, including Shelby Scott, who tossed a no-hitter versus the Phoenix last year.
Senior Day
On Sunday prior to the 1 p.m. series finale, the Elon senior class of Allen, Berna, Ford, Nesterm Oldham and Spencer will be recognized one final time in front of the home crowd at Hunt Softball Park. Each member of the group has been a clutch and record-breaking performer as well as valuable teammates for the program. The class has also helped the maroon and gold be one of the top academic programs at Elon with multiple members selected to the SoCon All-Academic teams.
On Deck
The Phoenix will be off for nearly a week before closing out the regular-season at I-40 rival UNCG on May 3-4.