Elon Baseball – Easter Weekend Brings Northeastern to Latham Park

ELON, N.C. – The Elon baseball team will look to try to remain near the top of the Colonial Athletic Association standings by playing host to the Northeastern Huskies for three games this weekend. The series will begin on Friday, April 3 at 6:30 p.m. with games also being played on Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 12:30 p.m.

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.

Promotions
Friday, April 3
• Free foam baseball giveaway

Saturday, April 4
• Easter Egg Hunt begins at 3:45 p.m. (A second hunt will be announced at some point during the game)

Sunday, April 5
• Sunday Fun Day (Inflatable bounce house, kids run the bases)

Starting Pitchers
Friday, April 3
Elon: RHP Matt Harris (3-1, 4.54 ERA, 33.2 IP, 34 K)
Northeastern: RHP Nick Berger (2-2, 3.53 ERA, 43.1 IP, 36 K)

Saturday, April 4
Elon: RHP Michael Elefante (2-0, 4.86 ERA, 37.0 IP, 27 K)
Northeastern: RHP Dustin Hunt (2-3, 5.35 ERA, 35.1 IP, 41 K)

Sunday, April 5
Elon: RHP Lucas Bakker (2-3, 6.43 ERA, 42.0 IP, 29 K)
Northeastern: LHP James Mulry (1-4, 5.79 ERA, 32.2 IP, 26 K)

The Series
Elon and Northeastern will be meeting for the first time ever on the baseball diamond.

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 began CAA play 4-0, marking the first time since 2011 that the Phoenix began a league season with four straight wins.

A Strong Offense
Through games played on March 31, the Elon offense ranked among the best in the nation. The Phoenix is rated 51st nationally in batting average (.291), 26th in scoring (7.0 runs per game) and 43rd in on-base percentage (.383).

Power Surge
A year after hitting just 31 home runs as a team, Elon has belted 19 long balls this season. The Phoenix power is led by senior Chris King who has eight dingers and is among the nation’s leaders in homers. King hit a total of seven home runs in 2014.

On Deck
Elon will wrap up a five-game homestand with a Tuesday evening bout with North Carolina State. The Phoenix and Wolfpack will play at 6:30 p.m. on April 7.