Elon Phoenix Hosts Blue Devils at Hunt Softball Park on Wednesday

ELON, N.C. – Following a 3-1 weekend at its final home tournament, the Elon University softball team hosts Atlantic Coast Conference opponent Duke on Wednesday, March 6, for a midweek contest. The Phoenix and the Blue Devils are set for a 4 p.m. opening pitch.

WEBSITE PREVIEW

Follow the Phoenix
Elon’s matchup versus the Blue Devils will be streamed on Phoenix All-Access and can be followed at elonphoenix.com by visiting the team’s schedule page and clicking the “Watch” link next to the game. The contest can also be viewed via Facebook Live from the main Elon Phoenix account. Live stats will also be available to follow along with Twitter updates from the program’s handle, @ElonSoftball.

Inside the Series: Duke (Duke leads 1-0)
This is only the second all-time meeting in the regular-season between the Phoenix and the Blue Devils with Duke starting its program at the collegiate level in 2018. Both teams met in Durham, N.C., for the inaugural contest last season with Duke coming away with a 1-0 win over the maroon and gold. The Blue Devils is one of five teams from the ACC that the Phoenix has on its schedule this season.

Last Time Out
Elon closed out its weekend with a doubleheader sweep against Lafayette on Sunday, March 3, to finish out its final home tournament, the Phoenix Invitational. The maroon and gold earned a 7-1 win in the first game before coming back and holding off the Leopards with a 9-8 victory in the nightcap.

Barker Named CAA Pitcher of the Week
Redshirt junior Abby Barker was named the Colonial Athletic Association Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday, March 5. The Granville, Ohio, native posted a 0.00 ERA in 10.0 innings of action while going 2-0 over the weekend. She also fanned eight batters overall and posted a complete game, one-hitter versus La Salle on Saturday, March 2, in the Phoenix’s 9-0 win. The honor was Barker’s first career Pitcher of the Week accolade and the third time this season that a member of the team received a weekly award. Allie Eith and Keagan Goldwait were both named the CAA Rookie of the Week on Feb. 12 and Feb. 27, respectively.

Around the Horn
• The Phoenix enters the midweek contest having outscored its opponents 99-80 through the first 17 games of the season. Elon has plated most of those runs in the third inning, outscoring the opposition 23-12 in the frame.
• As a team, Elon is hitting .287 on the year with 29 doubles, 11 home runs and 86 RBI. The Phoenix currently leads the CAA in runs scored and RBI and is tied for the league-lead in hits with 129 along with College of Charleston. Elon is also in the top-five of the CAA in slugging percentage (.433), on-base percentage (.398), doubles and home runs.
• Four players in the Phoenix’s main lineup are hitting better than .300 on the year. Morgan Reich leads the squad with her .357 average and is tied for the team-lead in homers with two.
• Ally Repko leads the CAA in walks with teammate Goldwait next with 15. Repko also is second in the league in on-base percentage with .517. Repko and Goldwait are tied with Reich for the team-lead in homers with two.
• Freshman Rebecca Murray leads the Phoenix in RBI with 13, one of three players on the team who has 10 or more RBI. The Indian Trail, N.C., native is hitting .308 on the season and is fourth in the CAA in RBI.
• All seven of the Phoenix’s active freshmen has seen time early in the season. Six of those players have had their number called in the lineup with three starting at least 16 out of the 17 games this season.
• In the circle, Elon has posted a 3.56 ERA in 114.0 innings of action. The Phoenix has also struck out 39 batters compared to 56 walks.
• Barker is 6-2 on the season with a 2.27 ERA in 52.1 innings so far in 2019. She sits third overall in the CAA in ERA and second in innings pitched. Her six wins are also the most in the CAA and one win shy of tying her single-season best.
• Elon’s victory versus Longwood on Feb. 9, was the 185th for Phoenix eighth-year head coach Kathy Bocock in her career at Elon. Overall, Bocock has posted 192 career wins with the Phoenix.
• The Phoenix’s roster is balanced with seasoned leadership and a renewed depth of talent, featuring seven seniors along with eight newcomers.
• In the 2019 CAA Preseason Poll, the Phoenix was tabbed to finish sixth by the league’s head coaches.

Scouting the Duke (9-11)
Duke is 9-11 on the season after coming off hosting its own home tournament, the Duke Invitational, over the weekend. The Blue Devils went 3-1 on the weekend with wins over Kansas, Ohio and Charleston Southern. Coming off a 29-27 ledger in its first season of collegiate softball including a 13-11 mark in the ACC, the Blue Devils were tabbed to finish sixth in the 2019 ACC Preseason Poll and was selected third in the Coastal Division under second-year head coach Marissa Young.

The Blue Devils are hitting .236 as a team and have one player, Reilly Metzger, who is hitting better than .300. Duke is being outscored by opponents 71-65 on the season so far, but have done most of its scoring damage in the first and sixth innings with 15 runs scored. Rachel Abboud paces the Blue Devils with nine RBI while Caroline Jacobsen has two of team’s five home runs.

Four arms have toed the rubber for the Blue Devils this season, with the staff owning a 2.89 ERA with a shutout and a pair of saves. Shelby Waters has pitched a team-best 47.0 innings and has a 1.79 ERA with 40 strikeouts. She is also tied for the team-lead in wins with three along with Brianna Butler.

On Deck
Elon travels to Athens, Ga., to participate at the UGA Classic this weekend, March 8-10. The Phoenix will face Bowling Green, Western Illinois and eighth-ranked and host Georgia at the tournament.