Wake Forest Baseball Next on Elon’s Docket

ELON, N.C. – The Elon University baseball team will close out a brief four-game road swing with a contest on Tuesday, March 27, at Wake Forest. First pitch between the Phoenix and Demon Deacons is set for 6 p.m. at David F. Couch Ballpark.

GAME NOTES

Fans can follow the action with video provided through WatchESPN and ACC Network Extra. Taylor Durham will also have the call on the radio side with the WSJS 104.5 FM / 1200 AM broadcast hitting the airwaves at 5:45 p.m.

PITCHING MATCHUP
Elon
So. LH Owen Lorenz (2-2, 6.20)
Wake Forest
Fr. RH Cole McNamee (1-0, 3.18)

THE SERIES
Tuesday’s contest will be the 97th all-time meeting between Elon and Wake Forest. The Deacons hold a 59-36 (one unknown result) advantage in the series that dates to 1909. Wake Forest claimed a 7-1 victory in that first game. The nationally-ranked Deacons earned wins in both meetings last season – 14-1 in Winston-Salem and 13-1 at Elon.

ABOUT WAKE FOREST
Wake Forest enters Tuesday’s game with an 11-13 overall record and a 5-4 mark in ACC play. The Deacons lost two of their three games at Notre Dame over the weekend, but have won league series against both Florida State and Louisville.

The Wake offense is hitting at a .250 clip and has scored 117 runs (4.9 per game). The team has 28 doubles, three triples, 17 home runs and is 24-of-33 in stolen base attempts. Jake Mueller leads the team with a .366 batting average and 19 runs scored, while Johnny Aiello’s five homers and 22 RBI are team bests.

On the mound, The Deacs sport a 4.44 ERA and have surrendered 130 runs (5.4 per game). The staff has 233 strikeouts in 217.0 innings and has held opponents to a .240 batting average.

HEAD COACH MIKE KENNEDY
Now in his 22nd season as the head coach at his alma mater, Mike Kennedy (’91) is the winningest coach in program history. He has compiled a career record of 691-535-3 and has led his program to five regular season titles, three conference tournament championships and seven NCAA postseason appearances.

LEAGUE OPENERS
In the 20 seasons in which Elon has been a member of a conference under head coach Mike Kennedy, the maroon and gold has gone 14-6 in league openers. The Phoenix is 1-3 in CAA openers. Elon also went 10-1 in SoCon openers, 2-2 in Big South openers and 1-0 in South Atlantic openers under Kennedy.

RACKING UP THE K’S
Through the first 24 games of the season, the Elon pitching staff has put up some impressive strikeout totals. Three pitchers have eclipsed the 10-K mark in individual outings as sophomore George Kirby (11 Ks on opening day,11 at Georgia Southern and 10 vs. Appalachian State), Robbie Welhaf (12 in a relief outing against Radford) and Kyle Brnovich (11 vs. Marshall, 12 vs. Appalachian State and 13 vs. Rider) have all accomplished the feat.

As a staff on the year, the Phoenix has recorded 263 strikeouts on the year, an average of 11.0 per game.

ELON’S IRONMAN
Elon junior shortstop Ryne Ogren has been a mainstay in the Phoenix lineup since his arrival on campus. The Devon, Pa., native has now started 113 consecutive games dating back to his freshman campaign. Ogren has started all 24 games this year, started all 56 games a year ago and started the final 33 contests in 2016. The last time Ogren did not appear in Elon’s starting lineup was March 22, 2016 against High Point.

ON DECK
Elon will return home for its second CAA series of the year this weekend as the Phoenix will host College of Charleston for three games. The series will open with a 6 p.m. first pitch on Friday, March 30.