Elon Softball Closes Road Swing at Towson

ELON, N.C. – The Elon University softball team closes out an eight-game road trip this weekend, April 14-15, as the Phoenix faces Towson in a three-game Colonial Athletic Association set. The Phoenix and the Tigers are scheduled to open the series with a twin bill on Saturday at noon with the finale on Sunday with a 1 p.m. opening pitch at the Tiger Softball Complex.
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Follow the Phoenix
Fans can keep up with the action of the Phoenix all season via live stats from the program’s schedule page at elonphoenix.com. Updates will also be provided on Twitter on at the program’s handle, @ElonUSoftball. All three contests will be streamed online at towsontigers.com. For more on Elon softball, follow the program on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Inside the Series: Towson (Series tied 7-7)
Both teams are deadlocked in its series, which began in 2006 in Elon’s fastpitch era (since 1990). Since becoming league foes in 2015, both teams are tied at 5-5 with this weekend being the second time Elon will visit Towson in the series. Last season, the Phoenix earned the 2-1 series win in Elon with each game being decided by one run.

Around the Horn
• The Phoenix fell 1-0 at Duke in its midweek contest on Wednesday, April 11. It was the first-ever meeting for Elon against the Blue Devils with Duke in its first year of collegiate softball.
• Senior Kara Shutt had one of the Phoenix’s four hits versus the Blue Devils extending her reached base streak to 14 games. It is the second-longest streak of the season for the Greensboro, N.C., native who had reached safely in 21 straight games earlier this year.
• Shutt’s base hit gave her a team-best 58 on the season and 237 for her career. She currently sits sixth on the CAA all-time career hits list and second behind Tomeka Watson ’13 on the Phoenix’s career list.
• With 57 doubles in her career, Shutt is within reach of the league’s all-time career record of 60 set by Erica Field of James Madison from 2013-16.
• Shutt (.436) and Hannah Olson (.384) are the only Phoenix players hitting north of .300 on the year for the Phoenix. Shutt’s average sits third overall in the league and has risen that performance during CAA play to .543.
• Olson leads the Phoenix with her 27 RBI, one of five players on the Phoenix with double-digit RBI. The Yorktown, Va., native is also one double shy for seventh on the program’s all-time performance list with 37 in her career.
• Olson and Shutt have combined for 26 of the Phoenix’s 51 doubles this season with Shutt tied for third in the CAA with 15 and Olson also in the top-10 with 11.
• Elon leads the CAA in triples with nine this season. Shutt and Erica Serafini are tied for the CAA-lead with three each. Shutt tied Alaina Hall ’17 for the most career triples in Elon’s Division I history (since 2000) with 13.
• First-year Ally Repko has stepped up during league play with a .346 average in the Phoenix’s nine games. The Broadway, Va., native has tied for the team-lead with two homers and six RBI in CAA contests.
• Freshman pitcher Jamie Finnical made her first career start versus the Blue Devils on Wednesday. The Reistertown, Md., native threw a complete-game performance and struck out four batters.
• The Elon pitching staff has an overall team ERA of 3.30 in 265.0 innings of action. The Phoenix has relied on its deep pitching staff with all six pitchers on the roster seeing time in at least seven or more innings. Its six saves this season is tied for the league-lead with four of the six Phoenix hurlers recording at least one save.

Scouting the Towson (29-11, 5-4 CAA)
Towson has an overall mark of 29-11 heading into the weekend and sits in third-place in the league standings at 5-4 behind Hofstra (9-0) and James Madison (8-1) and a game ahead of the Phoenix (4-5). The Tigers are coming off being swept in a doubleheader on Wednesday at home versus Morgan State. Prior to that contest, Towson had won six straight including a CAA series sweep versus Drexel.

Offensively, Towson is the best in the CAA in a number of categories including average (.331), runs scored (264), hits (354), RBI (240) and doubles (77). Several Tigers individually have been dangerous at the plate this season with the team having seven players batting higher than .300 and three over .400. Senior Kendyl Scott is looking down the rest of the league with her .473 average, 61 hits, 19 doubles and three triples. She currently sits second in the country in total doubles, fourth in hits and seventh in average.

In the circle, Towson has a staff ERA of 3.19 in 258.2 innings. Overall, the Tigers have hurled 153 strikeouts, three shutouts and 17 complete games. The squad has allowed 150 runs with 118 earned along with 90 walks and 282 hits. Senior Megan Dejter has been the staff’s workhorse this season with 14-4 record and a 2.08 ERA in 128.0 innings. She has also fanned 71 batters.

On Deck
The Phoenix is back home next weekend, April 21-22, for its league series versus James Madison. The three-game set begins with a twin bill on Saturday at 1 p.m. followed with the series finale on Sunday also at 1 p.m. at Hunt Softball Park.