ELON, N.C. – The Elon University softball team hosts Drexel in its final Colonial Athletic Association home series of the season this weekend, April 28-29. The Phoenix and the Dragons starts the three-game set with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. before the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Hunt Softball Park.
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Elon will honor its 2018 senior class prior to the game on Sunday which includes Kristin Hoover, Madison Kadlic, Kiandra Mitchum, Hannah Olson and Kara Shutt.
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 at the program’s handle, @ElonUSoftball. The series finale be streamed online on Elon’s Phoenix All-Access channel. For more on Elon softball, follow the program on Twitter (@ElonUSoftball), Facebook and Instagram (@elonsoftball).
Inside the Series: Drexel (Elon Leads 9-0)
Elon owns a 9-0 advantage over the Dragons in the all-time series since the two became league foes in 2015. This weekend will be the second time that Drexel will visit Hunt Softball Park with its last trip to Elon coming in 2016. Last year, Elon outscored the Dragons in its series sweep in Philadelphia, 29-6.
Senior Salute
This Sunday prior to the series finale, Elon will honor the 2018 senior class of Hoover, Kadlic, Mitchum, Olson and Shutt. The quintet has helped Elon to 110 wins over their Phoenix career and helped the maroon and gold reach the CAA Tournament twice.
Around the Horn
• Elon earned a 4-1 victory over North Carolina A&T on Wednesday, April 25, in its final nonconference game of the season. The win snapped the Phoenix’s season-long eight-game losing streak while Elon ended the year with a 17-14 ledger in nonconference games.
• Shutt tied the CAA’s all-time career doubles record after recording the 60th of her career versus North Carolina A&T. Shutt tied Erica Field of James Madison, who originally set the record from 2013-16.
• The double was the 18th of the season for Shutt, which ranks third in the CAA. Olson also doubled in the contest versus the Lady Aggies, her 13th of the season, as she moved to sole possession of seventh all-time in school history with 39 career doubles.
• Shutt and Olson are the only players in the Phoenix’s regular lineup that are hitting better than .300 with Shutt leading the team with her .409 average. Olson is next at .386 and leads the team with 29 RBI.
• Shutt continues to climb the program’s and the CAA’s all-time career lists in several categories. Her 242 career hits are second in school history and currently fourth in league history. Her 13 career triples are tied for the most in school history at the Division I era and is also tied for fourth all-time on the CAA’s career list.
• Elon has outhit the opponent in 19 games this season. When the Phoenix has more base hits than the opposition, its record is 17-2.
• The Phoenix ranks second in the CAA in hit-by-pitches with 26 with UNCW leading the league with 31. Ten players on the squad has received at least one hit-by-pitch on the year with Olson and Abby Barker leading the team with five.
• Sophomore Kenna Quinn earned the win over the Lady Aggies on Wednesday while redshirt sophomore Elise Walton picked up her first save of the season. As a team, Elon leads the CAA this season with seven saves.
Scouting the Dragons (20-23-2, 3-12 CAA)
Drexel is 20-23-2 on the season and has CAA mark of 3-12. Two of the Dragons’ three league victories came at Delaware and another at College of Charleston as Drexel is a game behind the Phoenix in the league standings. Drexel is coming off winning three of its four games this week in a pair of doubleheaders versus Lafayette and at Rider.
Offensively, the Dragons have the second-best team batting average in the league at .324. Six players in Drexel’s regular lineup are hitting above .300 and one, freshman Kristi DiMeo, is north of .400 with her team-best .412 average. DiMeo leads the CAA with 14 home runs and has 50 RBI. Sophomore Linda Rush has 12 homers and leads the team with her 51 RBI.
Drexel has a staff ERA of 4.79 with 127 strikeouts in 282.1 innings of work. The Dragons’ pitching staff has tossed a total of two shutouts and 20 complete games, while allowing 147 walks and opponents to hit .306. Three players have primarily toed the rubber for Drexel this season with senior Katie Haley leading the squad with 93.0 innings of action. She has an 8-9 mark in the circle with a 5.27 ERA. Freshman Brooklyn Daly leads the team with a 4.15 ERA in 86.0 innings with a 5-6 record while sophomore Devon Grippe leads the team with 52 strikeouts with a 6-6 ledger and a 4.91 ERA in 92.2 innings.
On Deck
The Phoenix travels to Delaware for its final CAA series of 2018. The three-game set kicks off on Friday, May 4 with a doubleheader starting at 3 p.m., before the finale on Saturday, May 5, at the Delaware Softball Stadium.