Elon Softball Hosts Phoenix Invitational This Weekend

ELON, S.C. – The Elon University softball team is set to host its second tournament of the season, the Phoenix Invitational, this weekend, Feb. 14-16, at Hunt Softball Park. The Phoenix opens with Radford on Friday, Feb. 14, at 4 p.m.

The Schedule
• The maroon and gold is slated to play four games in the three-day tournament against the field of Radford, Morgan State and Siena.
• Elon plays a pair of games on Saturday, Feb. 15, versus Morgan State and Siena. The Phoenix and the Bears square off at 2 p.m. followed by Elon’s nightcap versus Siena at 4:15 p.m.
• Elon closes out the tournament with a rematch on Sunday, Feb. 16, at 2 p.m. versus Morgan State. For the full schedule of the tournament, head to the Phoenix’s schedule page at elonphoenix.com.

Follow the Phoenix
• Live stats will be available for every game at the tournament.
• Updates of the Phoenix’s games will also be posted on Twitter at the team’s account @ElonSoftball.

Look Back at Elon Softball Classic
• The Phoenix went 3-1 last weekend, Feb. 8-9, in its home tournament, the Elon Softball Classic, to open the 2020 season.
• Elon defeated Rhode Island, 5-0, in its season-opener last Saturday, before taking a tough outing against Seton Hall in a 17-6 setback to conclude the first day at the tournament.
• The Phoenix rebounded on the following day to sweep Longwood in a doubleheader. Elon earned a 4-2 victory in the first game before concluding the twin bill with a 13-3 win over the Lancers.

Quinn Named CAA Pitcher of the Week
• Kenna Quinn was named the Colonial Athletic Association’s Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday, Feb. 11 for her performance in the circle at the Elon Softball Classic.
• Quinn went 2-0 over the weekend with a pair of complete game victories. She posted a 0.00 ERA and struck out 13 batters compared to four walks.
• The Boiling Springs, S.C., native fanned eight batters in the Phoenix’s 5-0 win over Rhode Island last Saturday. That mark tied a career-high.
• It was the first career CAA weekly accolade for Quinn.

White Hot
• Coming off a season in which she was named the CAA Co-Rookie of the Year, Megan White has gotten off to a fast start for her sophomore campaign, posting a .400 average with six RBI, a double and a homer.
• White found the longball in Elon’s 13-3 win over Longwood on Sunday. She finished the day with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate while driving in four RBI.
• The Creedmoor, N.C., native also made a pair of great defensive plays against the Lancers in Elon’s 4-2 win on Sunday. White threw out two base runners stealing second including the game-ending one in the top of the seventh.

Series Breakdown
• vs. Radford – Elon and Radford have met 32 times on the diamond in a series going back to 1996. The Highlanders hold the 18-14 advantage all-time, but Elon has won the past seven meetings.
• vs. Morgan State – The Phoenix and the Bears have squared off only twice with Elon winning both contests. The last time the teams met came in 2015 with the Phoenix earning a 5-2 win.
• vs. Siena – This will be the first time both teams will face each other on the softball diamond.

Scouting Radford
• The Highlanders will open their 2020 campaign versus the Phoenix on Friday. Going into the season, Radford was tabbed to finish fifth in the Big South Preseason Poll after coming off a 25-34 ledger in 2019 with a 12-12 conference record.
• Junior Sydney Fisher returns to lead the Highlanders offensively after batting .396 and finishing the year ninth in the country in hits with 82. She also had 26 multi-hit games.
• Jessie Marvin returns for her junior season as one of the go-to pitchers in the circle for Radford. She led the team with a career-high 178.0 innings and picked up 13 wins with 78 strikeouts with a 2.95 ERA.

Scouting Morgan State
• The Bears also will start their 2020 season at the Phoenix Invitational. Morgan State was predicted to finish sixth in the 2020 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Softball Preseason Poll after going 22-24 in 2019 and 10-4 in the MEAC.
• Morgan State have a pair of MEAC Preseason second team selections in pitcher Stephanie Rundlett and catcher Haylee Bobos. Rundlett appeared in 34 games in 2019, making 27 starts and pitched 14 complete games to go 15-15 on the season. She also had 73 strikeouts.
• Bobos led the Lady Bears in batting average at .366, homeruns (six) and RBI (36). She earned second-team All-MEAC honors after finishing second on the team in hits (41) and total bases (69), while recording eight doubles, a triple and 13 walks in 112 at bats.

Scouting Siena
• Siena is also making their season-debut this weekend. The Saints went 22-25 last year and was 13-7 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) finishing in the top three in the league standings. Siena was chosen fifth in the MAAC Preseason Poll.
• The Saints returns six starters from last season, including a pair of second team All-MAAC selections in pitcher Maddie McMahon and outfielder Isabelle DeChiaro. DeChiaro finished second on the team in batting average (.377), RBI (17), slugging percentage (.574) and on-base percentage (.479).
• McMahon went 13-8 in the circle with a 3.08 ERA in 129.2 innings. The senior also struck out 114 batters while allowing just 46 walks and an opposing batting average of .241.

On Deck
• The Phoenix begins a 10-game road swing with a trip to Raleigh, N.C., for a matchup at N.C. State on Wednesday, Feb. 19. That game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start.