Elon Softball Phoenix Heads to North Carolina for Midweek Contest

ELON, S.C. – Continuing a 10-game road swing, the Elon University softball team heads to Chapel Hill, N.C., for a midweek contest versus North Carolina on Wednesday, Feb. 26. Opening pitch is slated for 4 p.m. at Anderson Stadium.

Follow the Phoenix
• Live stats will be available for the game by going to the team’s schedule page at elonphoenix.com.
• Updates will also be posted on Twitter at the team’s account @ElonSoftball.
• The game will be streamed on the ACC Network Extra via Watch ESPN or the ESPN app.

Look Back at the Gamecock Invitational
• The Phoenix had a tough outing at the Gamecock Invitational last weekend at the University of South Carolina. Elon fell in each of its four games at the tournament versus the field of Iowa State, Boston College, Liberty and host No. 22 South Carolina.
• Elon battled the Gamecocks in its finale of the tournament on Sunday, Feb. 23. The Phoenix’s Kaitlin King held South Carolina to only one earned run in the first five innings and ended up going the distance for the second straight game in the 4-0 setback.

Youth Movement
• The Phoenix enters the 2020 season with one of its youngest rosters in recent years. Among its 18-player roster, the Phoenix have 15 athletes that are in their first or second year with the team with 14 of those players having seen time on the field this season.
• Elon is even less experienced in the circle, with senior Kenna Quinn entering the 2020 campaign as the lone pitcher who has started a game at the Division I level.

Series Breakdown
• In a series going back to 1998 in Elon’s fastpitch era (since 1990), the Tar Heels hold a 28-4-1 ledger all-time over the maroon and gold.
• Elon has won the previous two contests in the series with both victories coming in 2018. The Phoenix defeated the Tar Heels 2-1 in Elon before earning a 7-3 victory over UNC in Chapel Hill in the most recent contest.
• Both teams failed to play each other last year due to weather and schedule arrangements, breaking its annual matchup streak since 1998.

Scouting North Carolina
• The Tar Heels are coming off a 1-4 week including going 0-3 at the weather-shortened UNCG Tournament last weekend. North Carolina dropped to 6-9 on the season after starting the year 4-2.
• North Carolina was tabbed to finish fourth in the 2020 Atlantic Coast Conference preseason softball poll. The Tar Heels was the 2019 ACC Tournament runner-up and went 38-20 last year with a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
• Offensively, the Tar Heels are batting .276 on the season with three regulars hitting better than .300. Senior Campbell Hutchinson paces the team with her .409 average while Zoë Goodman has driven in the most runs with her 10 RBI.
• In the circle, three players have seen action in 18 or more innings led by sophomore Hannah George’s 49.0. The Columbus, Ga., native has a 5-3 record with a 3.14 ERA and 34 strikeouts.

On Deck
Elon heads to Lynchburg, Va., to close out its road swing at the Liberty Softball Classic this weekend, Feb. 29-March 1. The Phoenix opens the tournament on Saturday versus Yale at 11 a.m. followed by a matchup with host Liberty at 3 p.m.