Second-Seeded Elon to Open CAA Baseball Tournament on Thursday

Second-Seeded Elon to Open CAA Tournament on Thursday

*****Game Notes*****

ELON, N.C. – After earning its highest ever finish in the Colonial Athletic Association, the second-seeded Elon University baseball team will open CAA Tournament play against either third-seeded College of Charleston or sixth-seeded Hofstra on Thursday, May 24, at 3 p.m. The tournament will be played at James Madison’s Veterans Memorial Park in Harrisonburg, Va.

Fans can listen to the all Elon contests on WSJS 104.5 FM / 1200 AM as Taylor Durham will provide all the play-by-play action. The pregame show begins 15 minutes prior to first pitch. The radio broadcasts can also be heard at elonphoenix.com and on the TuneIn app. CAA.tv will also have live video coverage of the games on Thursday and Friday.

Single-day tickets are $10 each while the entire tournament book is $25 (Children 5 & under are free). Students from a participating CAA institution will be admitted for free with a valid student ID. Gates will open one hour prior to first pitch on each day. The stadium does allow re-entry for ticketed patrons.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Wednesday, May 23
Game 1 – #4 UNCW vs. #5 Delaware – 11 a.m.
Game 2 – #3 Charleston vs. #6 Hofstra – 3 p.m.
Game 3 – Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 – 7 p.m.

Thursday, May 24
Game 4 – #1 Northeastern vs. Winner of Game 1 – 11 a.m.
Game 5 – #2 Elon vs. Winner of Game 2 – 3 p.m.
Game 6 – Winner of Game 3 vs. Lowest-Seeded Game 4/Game 5 Loser – 7 p.m.

Friday, May 25
Game 7 – Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5 – 11 a.m.
Game 8 – Winner of Game 6 vs. Highest-Seeded Game 4/Game 5 Loser – 3 p.m.
Game 9 – Loser of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8 – 7 p.m.

Saturday, May 26
Game 10 – Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 9 – 1 p.m.
Game 11 (if necessary)

EIGHT PHOENIX PLAYERS CLAIM POSTSEASON HONORS
In an announcement made by the Colonial Athletic Association office on Tuesday, May 22, a total of eight Elon baseball players were recognized with postseason honors. Leading the way were first team All-CAA selections Ryne Ogren (shortstop) and Kyle Brnovich (starting pitcher). The duo was joined by a quartet of second team honorees in Cam Devanney (second base), Zach Evers (outfield), George Kirby (starting pitcher) and Garrett Stonehouse (DH). Joe Satterfield (third base) was a third team pick, while pitcher Jared Wetherbee was named to the CAA All-Rookie Team. Voting for all of the awards was done by the league’s coaches.

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 713-545-3 and has led his program to five regular season titles, three conference tournament championships and seven NCAA postseason appearances. Kennedy earned his 700th career win on April 18 as Elon defeated North Carolina A&T by a 5-4 score.

COACHES WINNING AT ALMA MATER
Elon skipper Mike Kennedy recently earned his 700th career win, all of which have come at his alma mater. The 1991 grad is in select company for coaches who have racked up victories at their alma maters.

Active Head Coaches W/500 Wins at Alma Mater (thru May 20)
Mike Martin, Florida State 1,983
John Anderson, Minnesota 1,281
Bill Brown, George Mason 1,023
Gary Gilmore, Coastal Carolina 922
Mark Scalf, UNCW 903
Mike Fox, North Carolina 883
Mike Kennedy, Elon 713
Dave Van Horn, Arkansas 632
Dick Cooke, Davidson 589
Jim Sherman, Delaware 538
Todd Asalon, Northern Kentucky 532
Jim Penders, UConn 520
Craig Gibson, Mercer 505
Steve Jaska, Central Michigan 504

BRNOVICH NAMED TO COLLEGIATE NATIONAL TEAM
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Kyle Brnovich has accepted an invitation to join the 24-man USA Baseball Collegiate National Team roster this summer. Brnovich will be the first Elon baseball player to don the Stars and Stripes.

Brnovich will have the opportunity to play alongside some of the top collegiate players in the country and for a top-notch coaching staff. The head coach of the 2018 team is LSU’s Paul Mainieri. East Carolina head coach Cliff Godwin will serve as an assistant, while Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor will be the team’s pitching coach. Serving as the team’s bench coach will be Jim Hendry of the New York Yankees. Jorge Perez of St. Thomas will also serve as an assistant coach.

The USA Baseball Collegiate National Team will participate in three international friendship series in 2018, beginning with the 18th USA vs. Chinese Taipei International Friendship Series that will be held in North Carolina from June 28-July 2. The U.S. will then compete in the 42nd USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Series from July 3-9 with games being held in North Carolina, Georgia and South Carolina. Finally, the team will participate in the 7th Annual USA vs. Cuba International Friendship Series in Cuba from July 13-18. Seven Collegiate National Team games will be streamed live on USABaseball.com, as well as Facebook Live and YouTube.

BRNOVICH, OGREN ON NATIONAL WATCH LISTS; BRNOVICH SEMIFINALIST
Sophomore pitcher Kyle Brnovich has been named as a semifinalist for the 2018 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award. 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.

Brnovich is also a semifinalist for the College Baseball Foundation’s Pitcher of the Year Award. The award highlights 78 of the top arms in the country that includes both perennial powers and up-and-coming teams.

Junior infielder Ryne Ogren was named to the watch list for the Brooks Wallace Award, which is sponsored by Mizuno and honors the nation’s top shortstop and will be presented this summer by the College Baseball Foundation. There are 53 players on the list.

RACKING UP THE K’S & BREAKING RECORDS
Through 56 games this 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, 12 vs. Hofstra, 14 vs. Hartford and 10 at Delaware) have all accomplished the feat.

As a staff on the year, the Phoenix has recorded 550 strikeouts on the year, an average of 9.8 per game, surpassing the previous program record for K’s in a season. The previous mark of 491 was set last year.

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 145 consecutive games dating back to his freshman campaign. Ogren has started all 56 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 19 one-run games, going 9-10, and an additional nine two-run contests.

THIRD CAA POW HONOR FOR BRNOVICH
For the third time on the year, Elon sophomore Kyle Brnovich was named the CAA Pitcher of the Week on May 21.

Brnovich allowed only an unearned run on three hits over 8.0 innings and struck out nine in Elon’s 6-2 victory over William & Mary. The righty was also named to the 2018 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team last week.

ON DECK
Should Elon win its first tournament game, the Phoenix would play again at 11 a.m. on Friday, May 25. A loss could see Elon play at either 7 p.m. on Thursday night (with a Northeastern loss in Thursday’s 11 a.m. game) or at 3 p.m. on Friday, May 25.