Elon Baseball To Host Triad Foes This Week

ELON, N.C. – The Elon baseball team will play its first two midweek games of the season against two very familiar opponents as the Phoenix hosts High Point on Tuesday, Feb. 24 and UNCG on Wednesday, Feb. 25. Both games will start at 4 p.m. The game against High Point was moved to Latham Park due to field conditions at High Point.

Live Coverage
Fans can follow the Phoenix via live stats by going to the Elon baseball schedule page at elonphoenix.com. Twitter updates will be posted on the @ElonScores account or fans can register to have score updates texted to their phone. Both games will also have an audio broadcast through Phoenix All-Access.

Starting Pitchers
Tuesday, Feb. 24
Elon: RHP Matt Harris (0-0, 27.07 ERA, 1.1 IP, 1 K)
High Point: RHP Ryan Ripke (No appearances in 2015)

Wednesday, Feb. 25
Elon: LHP Jake Stalzer (1-1, 5.79 ERA, 9.1 IP, 8 K)
UNCG: TBA

The Series
Elon has met High Point more than any other opponent in its history. The two have played 207 times with the maroon and gold holding a 124-83 advantage in the series. Elon and High Point first met in 1926.

Elon and UNCG first met in 1991 with Elon claiming an 11-9 victory. The two have now played a total of 47 games with Elon holding a 32-15 edge in the series.

Coaching Continuity
Elon skipper Mike Kennedy is in his 19th year at the helm of his alma mater, but what may be more impressive is the tenure of his staff. Associate head coach Greg Starbuck is in his 17th season at Elon and assistant coach Robbie Huffstetler is in his 12th year in the maroon and gold. That group is one of just six in Division I baseball to have been together for at least 12 seasons. The others are Minnesota (33/30/17), Lamar (38/17/15), Miami (22/16/13), Virginia (12/12/12) and Gonzaga (12/12/12).

Starting Strong
A year after scoring just 26 first-inning runs, Elon has already plated nine runs in the opening frame this year. The Phoenix has scored in the first inning of each of its first six games.

Homer Happy
In its first five games of the season, Elon hit four home runs. The Phoenix did not hit its fourth homer of the year until March 23 last season, its 23rd game of the year.

CAA Era Begins
On July 1, 2014, Elon became a member of the Colonial Athletic Association and enters its first foray into CAA play this season. The Phoenix’s first league series will come at home against James Madison from March 20-22.

On Deck
Following this pair of midweek contests, Elon will play host to the Wagner Seahawks for three games this weekend. Game times are set for 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 27, 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 28 and 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 1.