Elon Softball to Square Off at Appalachian State for Midweek Twin Bill

ELON, N.C. – Playing its first midweek road doubleheader of the year, the Elon University softball team treks to Appalachian State for a non-conference twin bill on Wednesday, April 8, at the Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium. The opening game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start.

Live Coverage
Fans can follow the Phoenix via live stats by going to the Elon softball schedule page at elonphoenix.com. Twitter updates will also be provided the handle @elonscores or @ElonUSoftball.

Series History
In a series that dates back to 2001, Elon and Appalachian State are meeting for the first time as non-conference opponents since 2003 after both were members of the Southern Conference from 2004-2014. The Phoenix holds a 25-21 mark over the Mountaineers all time, but Appalachian State won two out of three last year in Elon and swept the maroon and gold in a three-game series the last time the two teams met in Boone, N.C., in 2013.

Last Time Out
The Phoenix suffered a 7-1 setback to Towson on Sunday, April 5, in its Colonial Athletic Association rubber match. The Tigers plated five runs in the first two innings of the game and add a pair of solo home runs in the seventh inning to help the dominating performance of starter Missy McCormick who held Elon to five hits. Alaina Hall had the lone RBI for the Phoenix in the game while going 2-for-3 overall.

Scouting the Phoenix (23-12)
Elon is still outscoring its opponents 155-129 this year and is hitting .260 for the season. The Phoenix is in the top-five in the CAA in runs scored, hits (235), on-base percentage (.357), RBI (136), doubles (50) and triples (nine).

Freshman Kara Shutt, who was named the CAA Player of the Week last Monday, March 30, batted .500 for the second straight week raising her average to .351. She also has a team-best 10 doubles, 25 RBI and 40 hits on the year. Classmate Hannah Olson still leads the team with a .365 average.

The Phoenix has three players that are in the top-100 in the nation in hit-by-pitches and two in the top-30. Emily Roper leads the CAA with 13 hit-by-pitches and is 12th in the nation in hit-by-pitches per game (0.32). Senior Aly Quintana is second in the league after receiving 11 hit-by-pitches so far this year.

Junior Kayla Caruso leads the Phoenix pitching staff with eight wins and 46 strikeouts while posting a 2.47 ERA in her 68 innings. Seniors Caitlin O’Shea and Chelsea White are tied for 20th in the nation with three saves each this season and have the second-most saves in a single-season in program history. O’Shea still needs one more save to break Jen Lamb’s (2003-04) school-record for saves in a career as she sits on six career saves.

Scouting Appalachian State (9-24)
The Mountaineers are 9-24 heading into the midweek matchup against the Phoenix, but have lost their last 11 games. ASU joined the Sun Belt conference over the summer was selected to finish ninth in the league’s preseason poll. Janice Savage is in her first year at the helm of the Mountaineers’ softball program.

ASU is also hitting .260 offensively as a program this year and has four players in its regular lineup hitting north of .300. Sarah Warnock has a team-high .322 average on the year and paces the team’s run production with 17 RBI.

In the circle, the Mountaineers have a cumulative ERA of 6.52 on the year with opponents batting .324. ASU’s staff has combined for 129 strikeouts with four saves with the Mountaineers’ top three hurlers pitching at least 48.1 innings.

On Deck
The Phoenix returns to CAA action on April 11-12 when the maroon and gold welcomes Delaware to Hunt Softball Park for a three-game series. The series begins with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 11, at 1 p.m.