ELON, N.C. – After a CAA series sweep of James Madison over the weekend, Elon University baseball is back at Latham Park this Wednesday, April 3 as the Phoenix (16-12, 5-1) hosts Liberty for a 5 p.m. midweek game.
COVERAGE
Fans can listen to the games on the Elon Sports Network from Learfield/IMG College as Taylor Durham will provide play-by-play action. The pregame show begins 15 minutes prior to first pitch. The radio broadcasts can be heard at elonphoenix.com/live and on the TuneIn app. Additionally, Wednesday’s game will be streamed live on Phoenix All-Access through elonphoenix.com/live. Live stats will also be available.
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Elon Liberty
R-Jr. RH Mason Daniels (2-1, 5.74) So. LH Mason Meyer (4-2, 5.18) THE SERIES
Liberty is ahead in the all-time series, 18-12. The programs last met on Feb. 28 last season when Elon rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the home half of the seventh inning. A Zach Evers leadoff hit, a wild pitch, and a Matt Oldham walk put two on for Ryne Ogren. The junior found a hole in the right side of the Liberty defense, scoring Evers. After a Hayden Platt fielder's choice knotted the score at 3-3, Cam Devanney smacked a solo shot to left later in the inning for the deciding run.ABOUT LIBERTY
The Flames (21-6) are in their first season as a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference and are coming off a conference sweep of North Florida. Brandon Rohrer leads Liberty's bats with a .365 average. Will Wagner follows with a .320 clip and is even with Logan Mathieu at three long balls this season. Mathieu is hitting .256 and leads the blue, white, and red with 23 RBIs. Jaylen Guy (.295) is the threat on the basepaths with a 10-of-11 success rate in swiping bags. Jonathan Embry (.290) and Mathieu have hit nine doubles and a team-best 12 extra-base hits.Sophomore left-hander Mason Meyer is expected to get the start for Liberty. A Newnan, Ga. native, he is 4-2 with a 5.18 ERA through seven starts and eight appearances. In 33.0 innings, Meyer's allowed 19 earned runs on 33 hits and 12 walks while striking out 25 opposing batters.
BRNOVICH BECOMES ELON'S CAREER STRIKEOUT LEADER
Kyle Brnovich became Elon's career leader in strikeouts last Friday after fanning seven JMU batters. The righty now has 305 in his time as a Phoenix. He entered the game with 298 and needed four to pull even with Steve Hensley (2006-08). In 7.0 complete innings, he held the Dukes to three runs on seven hits and a pair of walks to improve to 2-3 on the season.KIRBY TOSSES ANOTHER COMPLETE GAME
Saturday against JMU, George Kirby tossed his second complete game of the season to help Elon secure its second straight conference series win. The junior retired 14 batters in a row and fanned eight JMU batters to improve to 5-0 on the season. He allowed the one unearned run on four hits and did not issue a walk.Earlier in the month, he threw his first career complete game as the Phoenix defeated Bryant 1-0. In the first game of a March 10 doubleheader, Kirby retired 18 consecutive batters after giving up one hit. He faced two more hitters than the minimum and tallied 11 strikeouts on the day. The effort garnered CAA Co-Pitcher of the Week honors, marking the third time he's received the distinction this season.
SUNDAY SLUGFEST
Elon's bats came alive in Sunday's series finale as the maroon and gold knocked a season-high three home runs out of Latham Park. Joe Satterfield, Ty Adcock, and Adam Spurlin each went yard to help secure an 8-3 win over the Dukes. Spurlin is now even with Devanney with a team-high five homers, while Adcock is right behind them at four.ELON IN THE RANKINGS
Through games played on April 1, Elon ranks 19th in the nation in fielding percentage (.979) and sacrifice flies (17). The Phoenix also leads the league in hits allowed per nine innings (7.38) and home runs per game (0.71) and is tied for the top spot in home runs (20).Devanney is second in the country in sac flies (6), while Kirby is third in both strikeout-to-walk ratio (0.62) and walks allowed per nine innings (0.59). The Rye, N.Y. native is also fourth inc complete games (2) and 17th in wins (5). Tyler Stanley ranks 10th in hit by pitch (12), 12th in hit by pitch per game (0.46), and 22nd in stolen bases (16).
CURRENT ELON STREAKS
Anthony Galason has reached safely in 26 consecutive games, while Satterfield is close behind at 23 games.UP NEXT
Elon is on the road this weekend as the maroon and gold heads to Towson, Md. for a conference series with the Tigers. Friday's series opener is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start at John B. Schuerholz Park.