Elon Baseball Phoenix Heads North to Play the Pride

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – Elon University baseball makes its longest trip of the regular season this weekend as the Phoenix (27-19, 16-2 CAA) continues league play at Hofstra on May 3-4. Due to expected inclement weather, the teams will play a 2 p.m. series opener on Friday, May 3 and a doubleheader on Saturday, May 4 beginning at 11 a.m.

COVERAGE
Hofstra will have live stats and Pride Productions Live Audio from WRHU-FM available for all three games with links available on the team’s schedule page.

PITCHING MATCHUPS

Elon                                    Hofstra
Jr. RH Kyle Brnovich (5-3, 3.63)        Jr. RH Jack Jett (0-3, 7.98)
Jr. RH George Kirby (7-1, 2.39)         Sr. LH Michael James (0-6, 6.35)
So. LH Jared Wetherbee (6-3, 2.73)      Fr. LH Ryan Rue (2-4, 4.58)

THE SERIES
Elon is ahead in the all-time series 8-4 and swept the Pride on April 13-15 last season at Latham Park. The Pride (13-26, 6-9) has a 4-2 advantage when playing in Hempstead, however.

In the series opener last year, Kyle Brnovich reached 200 career strikeouts as the Milton, Ga. native fanned 12 hitters and allowed one run on two hits over 7.0 innings to help the maroon and gold secure a 2-1 final. Robbie Welhaf picked up the win with 2.0 shutout innings. He struck out five and faced the minimum. At the plate, Ryne Ogren batted 2-for-4 with a run scored while Garrett Stonehouse drove in both Phoenix runs in a 1-for-1 night.

Game Two saw George Kirby post a career-best 13 strikeouts to help Elon claim the series win with a 6-3 victory. He tossed 7.0 innings and allowing one unearned run on five hits without giving up a walk. Welhaf tossed the final inning to earn the save. Ryne Ogren hit 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBI, while Zach Evers scored twice and drove a run with a 2-for-4 effort at the plate.

Elon took the series finale 5-3 as Owen Lorenz struck out five and allowed two hits across 3.2 shutout innings to secure the win. Starter Ryan Conroy tossed 4.0 innings and allowed a run on three hits while striking out eight. Sean Byrnes threw 1.1 innings and was charged with two runs and struck out a pair. On offense, Evers finished the day 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs, while Matt Oldham went 1-for-3 and scored twice.

ABOUT HOFSTRA
The Pride was on a six-game winning streak before dropping 2-of-3 to James Madison last weekend. Vito Friscia is batting .299 and leads the team with seven long balls, 24 RBIs, 24 runs, 11 doubles, and 28 walks. Anthony D’Onofrio follows with a .252 clip and Rob Weissheir is hitting .244. D’Onofrio, Ryan Morash (.237), and Austin Pollack (.203) are all 7-for-10 on stolen base attempts. As a team, Hofstra is batting .216.

Jack Jett (0-3) is expected to start on Friday. Hofstra will then throw Michael James (0-6) in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader and Ryan Rue (2-4) in the second game. Rue leads the Pride pitching staff with 41 strikeouts, with James and Jack Anderson (2-0) both at 26. Daniel Page (0-1) has four saves on the season. Collectively, the Pride owns a 6.02 ERA with opponents batting .294.

WETHERBEE NAMED CO-PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Jared Wetherbee was named CAA Co-Pitcher of the Week on Monday, April 29, marking his first career weekly honor. In last Sunday’s series finale against Northeastern, the Fiskdale, Mass. native held the Huskies scoreless through a career-high 8.0 complete innings pitched. He allowed three hits and two walks while striking out five. The left-handed hurler improved to 6-3 on the season and didn’t allow a runner to get past second base. The effort lowered his season ERA to a 2.73 as he and teammate Brandon Justice combined to toss Elon’s fourth shutout of the season. With the win, the Phoenix also posted its fifth sweep of the season and fourth in conference play.

PHOENIX CLOSES OUT NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
Elon finished non-conference play on Wednesday, April 30 as the team fell to visiting High Point, 6-2. Dean McCarthy took the loss after giving up an unearned run on two hits. He struck out a pair in 2.1 innings of relief. Starter Kyle Greenler tallied four punch outs in 3.2 innings and was tagged for two runs on four hits and a walk. Jack Roberts, Adam Spurlin, and Joe Sprake also made appearances. Joe Satterfield batted 2-for-4 and scored once, Cam Devanney finished 1-for-3 with a double and a run, and Mike Borucki singled in ihs lone at bat as a pinch hitter. HPU split the home-and-home series as the Phoenix took the first meeting 10-8 on March 5.

CURRENT ELON STREAKS
Devanney brings a 14-game hit streak into the series. The redshirt-junior has also reached safely in 19 consecutive games.

ELON IN THE RANKINGS
As a team, Elon enters the series ranked 25th in the nation in both hits allowed per nine innings (7.72) and shutouts (4). The Phoenix is also atop the conference standings in home runs (37), on base percentage (.365), runs (283), sacrifice flies (23), and scoring (6.2).

Kirby is still the national leader in strikeout-to-walk ratio (16.80) and ranks third in walks allowed per nine innings (0.63), sixth in complete games (3), 11th in WHIP (0.87), and 18th in victories (7). Devanney is fifth in Division I with seven sacrifice flies, Tyler Stanley is 14th with 16 hit by pitch, and Brnovich is 17th with 89 punch outs. In the league, Satterfield is the CAA leader in batting average (.372), hits (64), and hits per game (1.39). Ty Adcock is first in RBIs (48) and RBIs per game (1.04), and Brnovich is first in strikeouts per nine innings (11.96).

UP NEXT
Elon concludes the regular season next weekend, May 10-12 as the Phoenix hosts UNCW for the team’s Alumni Weekend. The 2013 Southern Conference Championship team will be recognized and throw out the first pitch on Saturday, May 11. Elon will then recognize its senior class before Sunday’s game on May 12.