Elon Softball Takes Series at College of Charleston

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – The Elon University softball team split its Colonial Athletic Association doubleheader at College of Charleston on Sunday, April 7, earning its second league series win of the season. The Cougars took game one, 12-5, from the Phoenix, but Elon rebounded with a 6-3 win in the rubber contest in game two at the Patriots Point Athletic Complex.

Game One Box (.PDF)Game Two Box (.PDF)

Elon (21-15-1, 5-4 CAA) won its first series at College of Charleston (18-20, 3-6 CAA) since 2011 and evened its record against the Cougars to 8-8 since the two became CAA opponents in 2015.

Game One: College of Charleston 12, Elon 5
The Phoenix was the first to cross the dish in the opening game. Megan White led off the second inning with a solo homer to left center to put Elon on the scoreboard. It was the third home run of the year for the freshman.

Elon added three more runs in the top of the third to expand its lead. Erica Serafini and Rebecca Murray reached on one-out singles before Ally Repko drove in Serafini on a single through the right side. The Cougars made a switch in the circle, but Elon plated two more runs on a RBIs from White and Ashtyn Foddrell to put the Phoenix ahead 4-0.

College of Charleston however began to rally in its home half of the fourth. The Cougars led off with a pair of singles before loading the bases with one out on a walk. A single up the middle drove in a pair of runs to cut the Phoenix’s lead in half, 4-2, with runners in scoring position for CofC with one out. An RBI single brought the Cougars’ deficit to one, 4-3, before the Phoenix finagled out of the inning with its lead still intact.

A six-run bottom of the fifth for College of Charleston swung the game in its favor. A couple of one-out RBI doubles from CofC helped the Cougars take the lead over the Phoenix, 5-4, before an RBI single increased their advantage to 6-4. Two more runs crossed the dish on a two RBI triple before a Phoenix miscue aided another runner to cross home plate to take a 9-4 lead.

Elon got a run back in the top of the sixth, scoring off a wild pitch, to keep within distance of the Cougars. College of Charleston continued its momentum with a three-run bottom of the sixth and eventually came away with the 12-5 game one victory.

At the Plate: White was 2-of-4 for the Phoenix at the plate as was Serafini, as both players added doubles to their stat lines…White led Elon with her two RBI while Morgan Reich also added a double…The Phoenix left nine runners on base.

In the Circle: Kenna Quinn took the loss for Elon, going to 5-4 on the season…The junior allowed 11 hits and eight runs in her 4.1 innings of action while striking out two batters.

Game Two: Elon 6, CofC 3
The Phoenix wasted no time rebounding from its tough outing in the opening game as Reich led off game two with a solo home run in the top of the first. That sparked a four-spot in the frame for the maroon and gold including a one-out RBI double from Callie Horn that put Elon ahead 4-0 early over the Cougars.

The Cougars cut into the Phoenix’s lead by plating a run in the next two innings. A couple of Phoenix errors in the bottom of the second led to CofC adding its first run of the contest and pulling within three, 4-1. In the third frame, the Cougars tallied another run on a two-out single to left field, making the score 4-2 before Elon retired the side on a fly out.

Elon got a run back in the top of the fifth. Keagan Goldwait stepped into the batter’s box with a runner on second and two outs for the Phoenix. The Sugar Land, Texas, native doubled into right center and enabled the Phoenix to increase its lead back to three, 5-2, giving the maroon and gold some breathing room.

The Phoenix got another insurance run in the top of the seventh. White reached on a one-out single before being replaced by a pinch runner as Horn came up to bat. The senior drove her second double of the game to left center and helped the Phoenix push its lead back up to four, 6-2. The Phoenix had runners in scoring position with two outs in the inning, but a fly out would leave them stranded.

The Cougars were not going to go away quietly in its home half of the seventh. CofC opened with back-to-back singles before scoring a run on its third straight base hit to make it a three-run game, 6-3. Another single loaded the bases with no outs as the Cougars looked for their second come-from-behind win of the day. Elon and pitcher Abby Barker escaped the jam as the Granville, Ohio, native induced the next three outs to leave to bags full and help the Phoenix earn the 6-3 win in the rubber game.

At the Plate: Horn was one of three players who had multi-hit efforts on the day for the Phoenix as the Durham, N.C., native went 3-of-4 with two doubles and two RBI…Reich (2-of-4) and White (2-of-3) also had multi-base hits in the contest…The Phoenix overall had 11 hits in the contest, its second-highest total of the season.

In the Circle: Barker (13-5) tossed her 13th complete game of the season and gave up two earned runs and 10 hits in the contest with four strikeouts…Her 13 wins and complete games are tied for the sixth-most in school history for a single-season at the Division I level.

On Deck
Elon is back at home hosting Delaware for its next CAA series next weekend, April 13-14. The Phoenix and the Blue Hens open the three-game set with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 13, at 1 p.m. before closing out with the series finale on Sunday, April 14, beginning at 1 p.m. at Hunt Softball Park.