Elon Softball’s Rally Falls Short in Setback to UNCG

ELON, N.C. – The Elon University softball team rallied back from a double-digit deficit after the top of the third, but suffered only its second setback at Hunt Softball Park all year in the form of an 11-9 defeat at the hands of local rival UNCG on Wednesday, March 25.

The Phoenix (19-9) fell to the Spartans (13-12) as UNCG took advantage of a couple of early Elon miscues to jump out to a 10-0 advantage after the top of the third. Elon also dropped to 13-2 on the season at home.

“We knew that UNCG was going to come in here and play today,” said Elon head coach Kathy Bocock. “We knew if we weren’t ready at the beginning it would be tough for us to pull it out and we weren’t ready for the first couple of innings and fell behind. We made a great run at them, but just ran out of gas.”

Elon had 10 hits on the day compared to 12 for the Spartans. Senior Grace Eng and freshman Kara Shutt both had a pair of hits with Eng going 2-for-3 with a double and a RBI while Shutt batted 2-for-4 with a pair of runs and two RBI.

Junior Kayla Caruso (6-1) took the loss in the circle for the maroon and gold, her first of the year, after she threw 1.1 innings on the day with four runs, two earned, on four hits. Caruso was one of four pitchers that saw action on the day for the Phoenix.

After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the first, Elon saw UNCG pile on six runs on five hits in the beginning of the second frame. The Spartans’ Lindsay Thomas had a three-run home run in the inning as the Phoenix faced a 7-0 deficit after the second.

UNCG piled on three more runs in the top of the third and took a 10-0 lead into the bottom half. Elon responded with three runs of its own in the bottom of the frame thanks to a two-out, three-run home run to left by Emily Cameron, driving in Alaina Hall and Shutt, who reached earlier on singles. A foul out ended the inning on the next at bat, but the Phoenix was able to cut into UNCG’s lead with the score at 10-3.

The Spartans added another run in the top of the fourth, but Elon countered with five runs of its own in the bottom half after UNCG went with a pitching change. Eng connected on a one-out double to right center to score Aly Quintana and bring the score to 11-4. Shutt followed on a two-out, two RBI double to center before scoring herself on another double by Emily Roper to right and getting Elon closer at 11-7. An UNCG fielding error on the next at bat led to Roper crossing the plate, pulling the Phoenix within three, 11-8.

The Phoenix scored another run in the bottom of the fifth to cut its deficit to just two, but was unable to drive across any more runs as the Elon bats cooled after that point. Despite getting the tying run at the plate in the sixth and seventh frames, Elon could not tie it up and fell 11-9 to its former conference foe.

Elon moves on to its next opponent and heads to Philadelphia for its Colonial Athletic Association series at Drexel beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 27, at 11 a.m.

       1 2 3 4 5 6 7  R  H E
UNCG   1 6 3 1 0 0 0 11 12 2
Elon   0 0 3 5 1 0 0  9 10 3

Win – Bazonski (6-4).
Loss – Caruso (6-1).
Save – Thomas, N. (1).
Umpires – HP: Lee Moser 1B: Dave Brewer 3B: Roberto Capuno
Start: 5 pm
Time: 2:24
Attendance: 165
Weather: 55 degrees and cloudy