ELON, N.C. – Winners of four of its last five games, the Elon Phoenix baseball team will play its final game of the month of April on Tuesday, April 28, at Davidson. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. first pitch at Wilson Field.
Elon Vs. Cancer
For the fourth straight year, the Elon baseball team will join forces with much of the collegiate baseball family to help raise money to fight childhood cancer. This season, the Phoenix will partner with the Vs. Cancer Foundation to hold a head-shaving event following its 1:30 p.m. game with Delaware on Sunday, May 10.
All players and coaches on the Elon roster will have their heads shaved in support of this important cause. In the past three years, Elon’s head-shaving events raised over $43,000 that went toward fighing childhood cancer.
To donate, visit team.vs-cancer.org/elonbaseball.
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. Fans can also listen to the game live on WSML 104.5 FM and 1200 AM.
Starting Pitchers
Tuesday, April 28
Elon: LHP Jake Stalzer (2-4, 8.69 ERA, 38.1 IP, 23 K)
Davidson: RHP Nick Neitzel (1-3, 5.01 ERA, 23.1 IP, 21 K)
The Series
Elon leads the all-time series with Davidson by a 40-32-1 margin after an 8-3 win over the Wildcats earlier this season. The two first met on April 10, 1908 with Davidson claiming a 4-3 victory. Elon has gone 20-18 in games played at Davidson.
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).
Pounding the Ball
In its recent four-game winning streak that saw the Phoenix knock off UNCG, Campbell and UNCW (2x), Elon’s offense pounded out 53 hits and scored 41 runs. The pitching staff allowed three earned runs or less in three of the four games.
Zammarelli Named CAA POW
Nick Zammarelli was recognized as the CAA Player of the Week on Monday, April 27. Zammarelli hit .526 (10-for-19) with five runs scored, three doubles, a home run and 13 RBI in five games. He had at least one hit and two RBI in all five contests and posted an .842 slugging percentage and had a .625 on-base percentage.
Top-25 Series Win
Elon was able to win two games in its three-game series with #22 UNCW. It marked the first time that Elon won a series against a ranked team since sweeping a two-game, midweek set at #5 Clemson in March of 2010. The last time it happened during a weekend was in 2005 when the Phoenix took two from #22 Coastal Carolina.
Elon Baseball Live Radio Show
The Elon Baseball Live Radio Show will be broadcast two more times this spring. Each show is broadcast live from Mellow Mushroom on Huffman Mill Road in Burlington from 7-8 p.m. Fans are encouraged to come out to the show to hear from Phoenix head coach Mike Kennedy and select players. The final dates will be May 4 and May 18.
On Deck
The Phoenix will play its final road CAA series of the year by making the trip to Hempstead, N.Y., for a three-game series at Hofstra. Elon will take on the Pride in Friday’s game one at 3 p.m. That will be followed by a 2 p.m. game on Saturday and a 1 p.m. contest on Sunday.