Elon Baseball to Host Pair of In-State Foes This Week

ELON, N.C. – Fresh off of a three-game sweep of Hofstra, the Elon University baseball team will continue its 10-game homestand with a pair of midweek games against in-state opponents. The Phoenix will welcome the Campbell Camels to Latham Park on Tuesday before hosting the North Carolina A&T Aggies on Wednesday. Both games are scheduled for 6 p.m. starts.

GAME NOTES

Tuesday’s game with Campbell will be broadcast live on Phoenix All-Access. Radio coverage for Tuesday’s game will also be available on WSJS 104.5 FM and 1200 AM and at elonphoenix.com and through the TuneIn app. Pregame coverage kicks off 15 minutes prior to first pitch.

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

Elon                                    Campbell / N.C. A&T
So. RH Mason Daniels (0-1, 10.38)       So. LH Matthew Barefoot (0-0, 3.86)
TBD                                     Sr. LH Jonah Owenby (3-0, 2.04)

THE SERIES
Elon and Campbell have squared off 50 times prior to Tuesday’s meeting. The maroon and gold holds a 29-21 advantage in this series that began in 1962. The Phoenix is 15-8 against Campbell at Latham Park. The two sides last got together in 2016, with Elon capturing a 14-2 victory on May 10 at home.

The Phoenix and Aggies have met 56 times. Elon holds a commanding 48-7-1 all-time advantage in the series that dates to 1974. Elon has lost just once in 30 known games at home. The last time these two met saw Elon capture a 9-6 victory at Latham Park on May 4, 2016.

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 698-540-3 and has led his program to five regular season titles, three conference tournament championships and seven NCAA postseason appearances.

BRNOVICH ON GOLDEN SPIKES WATCH LIST
Sophomore pitcher Kyle Brnovich has been selected to the 2018 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award midseason watch list. The award is presented annually to the top amateur baseball player in the country. Presented in partnership with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation, the 41st Golden Spikes Award will be presented on June 28 in Los Angeles.

The midseason watch list features 40 of the nation’s top amateur players from the college ranks. The Golden Spikes Award Advisory Board will continue to maintain a rolling list of athletes, allowing players to play themselves into consideration for the award before announcing the semifinalists on May 21.

RACKING UP THE K’S
Through the first 36 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, 10 vs. Appalachian State and 13 vs. Hofstra), Robbie Welhaf (12 in a relief outing against Radford) and Kyle Brnovich (11 vs. Marshall, 12 vs. Appalachian State, 13 vs. Rider, 14 vs. Charleston, 10 at Northeastern and 12 vs. Hofstra) have all accomplished the feat.

As a staff on the year, the Phoenix has recorded 386 strikeouts on the year, an average of 11.0 per game. Last year, Elon set a new program record with 491. The maroon and gold is on pace to notch 606 strikeouts this season.

PHOENIX AMONG BEST IN BALANCING POWER
This season, Elon has hit 23 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 (through April 11).

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

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 125 consecutive games dating back to his freshman campaign. Ogren has started all 36 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 13 one-run games, going 6-7, and an additional eight two-run contests.

MOVIN’ ON UP
With his 12-strikeout performance against Hofstra, sophomore Kyle Brnovich recorded the 200th strikeout of his career. Brnovich reached the mark in just 24 career outings. His 200 career K’s rank 10th in program history, while his 97 strikeouts this season are tied for the eighth-most in the history of the program.

PILING UP THE K’S
In a three-game conference sweep of Hofstra, Elon pitchers combined to strike out 47 hitters – the most by the Phoenix in a three-game set this season. That amounts to 58.0 percent of the outs recorded in the series coming on the K.

The last time that Elon struck out that many hitters in a three-game series was in May of 2009 when the Phoenix struck out 47 hitters in a set against Wofford. In that series, Elon recorded 25 strikeouts in game one – a contest that went 18 innings.

ON DECK
Elon will remain at home this weekend as the Phoenix will step out of CAA play to host the Hartford Hawks for Alumni Weekend. The three-game series is scheduled to begin with a 6 p.m. first pitch on Friday, April 20.