Elon to Open SoCon Baseball Tournament Play on Tuesday vs. The Citadel

ELON, N.C. — Elon’s quest for a second straight Southern Conference Baseball Tournament title will begin on Tuesday as the seventh-seeded Phoenix will take on 10th-seeded The Citadel in a 3:30 p.m. game. The winner will advance to face second-seeded Davidson at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

Elon in the SoCon Tournament
Tournament Record: 24-17
Winning Pct.: .632
Titles: 2 (2008, 2013)
vs. Appalachian State: 2-0
vs. The Citadel: 4-7
vs. Davidson: 0-0
vs. Furman: 2-2
vs. Georgia Southern: 5-3
vs. UNCG: 4-0
vs. Samford: 2-0
vs. Western Carolina: 1-2
vs. Wofford: 1-0

Player of the Year
After posting Southern Conference bests with a .470 batting average, .770 slugging percentage and .533 on-base percentage in league games, Elon junior Casey Jones was honored as the SoCon’s 2014 Player of the Year and was a first-team all-SoCon pick in balloting of both the conference’s coaches and media. Jones is the third Elon player to collect league player of the year accolades in the SoCon.

All-Time in the SoCon
In its 11th season in the SoCon, Elon posted a .653 (205-109) winning percentage in league games. That ranks as the fourth-best winning percentage by any of the 22 teams that have ever played baseball in the SoCon.

Jones on Gregg Olson Watch List
Junior utility man Casey Jones was one of 80 players to earn inclusion on the watch list for the 2014 Gregg Olson Award presented by Toolshed Sports. The award is presented annually to college baseball’s “Breakout Player of the Year.”

A year after hitting .287 with 25 runs scored, nine doubles and 17 RBI in 48 games as a sophomore, Jones has become one of the top hitters in the nation in 2014. This season, Jones leads the SoCon and ranks in the top 10 in the country with a .422 batting average. He also rates among the nation’s leaders with 20 doubles, a .504 on-base percentage and a .661 slugging percentage. He also rates among the best in the country in RBI (52), hits (81) and total bases (127). He is tied for second on the team with six homers.

600 Club
Already Elon’s all-time winningest coach, skipper Mike Kennedy achieved a milestone by winning his 600th career game with a 12-2 victory at Wofford on April 12. Kennedy currently has 604 wins to his credit, all in the maroon and gold.

Chasing .400
With only postseason games remaining, Elon’s Casey Jones is trying to become the third Phoenix player to hit .400 or better on the year during the program’s Division I tenure. Jones is currently leading the Southern Conference with a .422 batting average (81-192) through 52 games. Jones has failed to get a hit in only six games all season. He has failed to reach safely (BB, H, HBP) in only two games. The only other Elon players to finish the year with an average over .400 were Cory Harrilchak (.410 in 2008) and Pat Irvine (.402 in 2009).

He’s a Smart One
Elon junior outfielder Quinn Bower was one of 11 players selected to the Capital One Academic All-District 3 baseball team which was announced on May 1. Bower, who sports a 3.86 GPA as a finance major, was Elon’s first pick to the team since catcher Mike Melillo in 2010. He is now eligible for Academic All-America honors.