James Madison Visits Latham Park as Elon Baseball Begins CAA Play

ELON, N.C. – It’s the dawn of a new era of Elon baseball. The Phoenix will begin its inaugural season of Colonial Athletic Association play by welcoming the James Madison Dukes to Latham Park for a three-game series beginning Friday, March 20, at 6 p.m. The two will then play at 4 p.m. on Saturday and at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.

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. All three games this weekend will be broadcast live on the new home of Elon baseball – WSML 104.5 FM / 1200 AM as well as through elonphoenix.com. Fans will be able to watch all three games of the series through Phoenix All-Access, Elon’s free online video portal.

Promotions
All fans in attendance at Friday’s game will receive a free print of Latham Park. The print was produced by artist John Twomey. Sunday will also mark the first Sunday Fun Day at Latham Park. There will be an inflatable set up for children to play in and kids will be invited to run the bases following the game.

Starting Pitchers
Friday, March 20
Elon: RHP Matt Harris (2-1, 6.20 ERA, 20.1 IP, 20 K)
James Madison: LHP Aaron Hoover (2-0, 4.21 ERA, 25.2 IP, 24 K)

Saturday, March 21
Elon: RH Michael Elefante (1-0, 5.73 ERA, 22.0 IP, 17 K)
James Madison: TBA

Sunday, March 22
Elon: TBA
James Madison: TBA

The Series
The baseball series between Elon and James Madison is very short. The two have played just twice with both games coming in 1977. JMU defeated Elon 9-4 in the first game before the maroon and gold claimed a 6-5 decision in the second contest.

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).

Tough Slate
According to WarrenNolan.com, Elon’s schedule rates as the 54th-toughest in the nation through games of March 18. Only two CAA programs have a schedule rated tougher – College of Charleston (13th) and UNCW (30th).

Conference Starts
Since moving to the Division I ranks for the 2000 season, Elon has posted a record of 12-3 in conference openers. The maroon and gold was 1-2 in Big South conference openers and 11-1 in SoCon openers. Elon’s last loss to start league play was a 7-1 defeat at College of Charleston in 2012.

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. This will mark Elon’s first CAA series.

On Deck
Elon will hit the road for four games after this series. The Phoenix will visit North Carolina State for a 6 p.m. contest on Tuesday, March 24 before heading to Williamsburg, Va., and a weekend league set at William & Mary.