Elon Baseball Heads North to Boston to Take on Northeastern

ELON, N.C. – Riding a four-game road winning streak, the Elon University baseball team will wrap up a four-game road swing with a three-game Colonial Athletic Association series at Northeastern this weekend. The series is scheduled to open with a 2:30 p.m. first pitch on Friday, April 6. Game two is set for Saturday at 1 p.m., with the series finale being played on Sunday at 1 p.m.

GAME NOTES

Fans can watch all three games through GoNUXStream, Northeastern’s video portal.

ALUMNI WEEKEND
The Elon University baseball team will welcome back former players for an Alumni Weekend when the Phoenix takes on Hartford in a three-game series April 20-22, at Latham Park. Over the course of the weekend, the teams from 2006, 2008 and 2009 teams will be recognized, however, Alumni Weekend is open to all former Elon players from any era. For more information, or to register for the weekend, click HERE.

PITCHING MATCHUP
Friday:
Elon – So. RH Kyle Brnovich (4-0, 1.53)
Northeastern – Jr. RH Tyler Brown (2-2, 7.47)

Saturday:
Elon – So. RH George Kirby (5-1, 2.28)
Northeastern – Sr. RH Brian Christian (1-5, 8.58)

Sunday:
Elon – Jr. RH Ryan Conroy (1-2, 2.80)
Northeastern – So. LH Sean Mellen (6-1, 2.40)

THE SERIES
Elon and Northeastern have met just 10 times, all since the Phoenix joined the CAA for the 2015 season. The maroon and gold is 6-4 in those games and has won each series 2-1. The other game was a conference tournament matchup won by the Huskies. Last year, Elon fell in the opener at Latham Park before bouncing back to take the final two games of the series.

ABOUT NORTHEASTERN
The Huskies enter the weekend with a 15-10 overall record and a 2-1 CAA mark. Northeastern has won four of its last five games, including taking two games at James Madison last weekend in league play.

Northeastern’s offense is hitting at a .283 clip and has scored 148 runs (5.9 per game). The Huskies have 46 doubles, nine triples and 13 home runs on the year. Leading the team is Jake Farrell who is hitting .364 with 21 runs scored, nine doubles, two triples, five homers and 24 RBI.

On the mound, Northeastern sports a 6.80 ERA and has given up 181 runs (7.2 per outing). Opponents are hitting Husky pitching at a .292 clip, while the staff has recorded 201 strikeouts over 225.0 innings.

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 695-536-3 and has led his program to five regular season titles, three conference tournament championships and seven NCAA postseason appearances.

RACKING UP THE K’S
Through the first 29 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, 13 vs. Rider and 14 vs. Charleston) have all accomplished the feat.

As a staff on the year, the Phoenix has recorded 306 strikeouts on the year, an average of 10.6 per game.

PHOENIX AMONG BEST IN BALANCING POWER
This season, Elon has hit 22 home runs. A total of 13 different players have gone deep for the Phoenix. Below is a list of team’s with the most players who have homered this year.

15 – Tennessee Tech
13 – Elon
12 – Arkansas, FAU, Mercer, South Carolina
11 – Davidson, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, Wichita State
10 – Clemson, Florida, Lipscomb, NC State, Ohio, Western Kentucky

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 118 consecutive games dating back to his freshman campaign. Ogren has started all 29 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.

THAT’S TIGHT
Elon’s first seven games of the season were decided by a combined eight runs. The Phoenix played four one-run games in its first five outings. The last time that Elon had four one-run decisions in its first five games of the season was 1934. That year, the team opened with four consecutive one-run contests.

On the year, Elon has played in 11 one-run games, going 5-6, and an additional seven two-run contests.

WINNING ON THE ROAD
So far in 2018, Elon has played a total of nine road games, posting a 6-3 record in those contests. The six road victories match the totals posted by the team during both the 2016 and 2017 seasons. The Phoenix still has 10 road games remaining on its 2018 slate.

Elon has won its last four road games, its longest such streak since 2012. That streak is currently tied for the sixth-longest in the nation.

BRNOVICH PICKS UP LEAGUE, NATIONAL HONORS
After allowing one run on two hits and striking out a season-high 14 hitters in a win over #30 Charleston, Elon sophomore right-handed pitcher Kyle Brnovich was named both the CAA co-Pitcher of the Week and one of Collegiate Baseball’s National Players of the Week on April 2. It marked the third CAA Pitcher of the Week honor, and second Collegiate Baseball award, for his career.

ON DECK
After this weekend’s series at Northeastern, the Phoenix will return home for its next 10 games. That homestand opens with a 6 p.m. bout with East Carolina on Wednesday, April 11.