ELON, N.C. – Elon University baseball scored in each of the first four innings as the Phoenix (7-4) bested Wagner 16-6 Sunday, March 3 at Latham Park to win the weekend series.
Jack Roberts (1-0) picked up the win in his first career appearance. The sophomore pitched 2.1 innings in relief, giving up two runs on three hits and a walk. He also struck out two of the 10 batters he faced. Starter Mason Daninels went 3.2 innings, tallying five strikeouts while allowing three runs (two earned) on two hits and four walks. Adam Spurlin, Kyle Greenler, Andrew Tovsky, and Kellan Elsbury also made appearances.
On offense, four Phoenix batters posted multi-hit efforts. Joe Satterfield led the way, finishing 2-for-3 with a double, two runs, and five RBIs. Garrett Stonehouse and Cam Devanney also went 2-for-3, while Ty Adcock hit 2-for-4. Anthony Hennings batted 1-for-5 with a triple, three runs, two RBIs, and a walk.
How It Happened: Tyler Stanley was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the first and proceeded to steal second. Back-to-back walks then loaded the bases with no outs. Matt Oldham hit a slapper right back to the pitcher, who tossed it home for the force out, but the Seahawks (1-8) catcher sailed the throw to first to allow two runs to come in. The home team added three more runs on as many hits and an error in its next go-around. After Hennings reached on an throwing error and took second, Cranston was hit by a pitch to put two on for Stonehouse. The Westport, Conn. native then singled through the left side for one tally. Satterfield then brought in two more with a hit to left.
Wagner finally got going in the top of the third as the leadoff batter reached on an error and moved up on a throwing error. A fly out to the gap in right allowed the Seahawk runner to tag up and a ground out to short made it a 5-1 game. Unfortunately for the visitors, Elon wasn’t done and posted another three-spot in the bottom half of the inning. With one out and the bases loaded, Stanley reached on a fielder’s choice to pick up an RBI. A Stonehouse walk juiced them again before Satterfield got a free RBI on yet another hit by pitch. Wagner looked to stop the bleeding with a pitching change, but Adcock also earned a free trip to first.
The Seahawks secured two runs in the fourth. A ground out to first with the bases loaded scored one, and a single to the hole in left brought in the other. Elon had an answer, though, as Anthony Galason led off the bottom half of the frame with a double to the corner in right. A Devanney walk and a passed ball put runners in scoring position for Hennings, who made the most of the opportunity with a triple down the right-field line. The Matthews, N.C. product then crossed the final 90 feet on a Stanley ground out to second.
Wagner scored another pair in the sixth, but a five-run bottom of the eighth snuffed out any hopes of a comeback. The visitors hit three more Phoenix batters and walked two more in the half inning. A Stonehouse single to right plated one and kept the bases loaded. Satterfield then doubled to left center for two more runs and Adcock singled to short for another. Jarrett Pico, who was in as a pinch hitter, got drilled for the final run in the inning. The visitors scored once more in the ninth, but Stonehouse collected a grounder and stepped on third for the force out to end the game.
Notes: Wagner’s pitchers hit a total of 10 Phoenix batters to tie the NCAA DI record. It marked the fourth time in a game that many batters have been hit and the first time since TCU and Baylor totaled 10 hit batters on March 6, 2012…Stanley added another steal to finish 7-for-7 during the series. He is now 10-for-10 on the season…Wagner’s starter threw eight-straight balls to start the bottom of the first inning…The game marked the first career start for Hennings, with the triple marking his first career hit…Today’s game marked the second time this season that Elon has scored at least a run in four consecutive innings. The Phoenix brought in runs in the third through six innings in the season opener versus Lafayette…After entering the series batting .071, Stonehouse had quite the weekend, finishing 6-for-8 to raise his average to .318.
On Deck: Elon is on the road Tuesday, March 5 as the team plays a 4 p.m. game at High Point.