Elon Baseball Makes First CAA Road Trip to Face William & Mary

ELON, N.C. – After opening its inaugural Colonial Athletic Association league season with a three-game sweep, the Elon baseball team will look to remain atop the conference standings as its plays its first road CAA set of the year. The Phoenix will begin its series at William & Mary with a 7 p.m. game on Friday before playing at 4 p.m. on Saturday and 1 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.

Starting Pitchers
Friday, March 27
Elon: RHP Matt Harris (2-1, 5.74 ERA, 26.2 IP, 23 K)
William & Mary: LHP Jason Inghram (1-3, 3.03 ERA, 29.2 IP, 21 K)

Saturday, March 28
Elon: RHP Michael Elefante (2-0, 4.65 ERA, 31.0 IP, 23 K)
William & Mary: RHP Nick Brown (3-0, 3.45 ERA, 31.1 IP, 22 K)

Sunday, March 29
Elon: RHP Lucas Bakker (2-3, 7.34 ERA, 34.1 IP, 24 K)
William & Mary: RHP Mitchell Aker (0-1, 10.80 ERA, 16.2 IP, 12 K)

The Series
This weekend will mark the first games between Elon and William & Mary since May of 1998. The two sides have played a total of 10 times, with Elon holding a 6-4 advantage in the all-time series. The first meeting came in 1916 with the Tribe capturing a 5-4 victory. William & Mary also came out victorious in the latest tilt, a 7-2 contest on May 2, 1998.

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).

CAA Sweep to Begin League Tenure
The Phoenix began conference play in its first season as a member of the CAA with a three-game sweep of James Madison. Elon claimed decisions of 5-4 (10 innings), 17-3 and 8-7 (13 innings) in sweeping the Dukes. It is the first 3-0 league start for Elon since beginning SoCon play 3-0 after a sweep of Appalachian State in 2011.

Conference Starts
Since moving to the Division I ranks for the 2000 season, Elon has posted a record of 12-4 in conference openers. The maroon and gold was 1-2 in Big South conference openers and 10-2 in SoCon openers before downing James Madison 5-4 in 10 innings to win its first-ever CAA opener.

Elon will look to start 4-0 in league play for the first time since 2011 when the Phoenix began the SoCon season 7-0.

A Strong Offense
Through games played on March 25, the Elon offense ranked among the best in the nation. The Phoenix is rated 33rd nationally in batting average (.298), 30th in scoring (7.1 runs per game) and 31st in on-base percentage (.390).

On Deck
Elon will close out the month of March by returning to Latham Park for a Tuesday evening bout with the North Carolina Tar Heels. Game time on March 31 is set for 6:30 p.m.