Trip to North Carolina Awaits Elon Baseball

ELON, N.C. – The lone mid-week action for the Elon baseball team will come on Wednesday, April 16, as the Phoenix visits the North Carolina Tar Heels for a 6 p.m. contest. The game will be carried live on WPCM 95.1 FM and 920 AM as well as through elonphoenix.com.

Probable Starting Pitchers
Wednesday
Elon – LH Jake Stalzer (4-2, 3.28 ERA)
North Carolina – RH A.J. Bogucki (1-0, 1.69 ERA)

Inside the Series
Elon and North Carolina have met 40 times prior to this week’s tilt. The maroon and gold is 9-31 in those 40 games. The first game of the series was played on March 26, 1909 with UNC claiming a 6-5 win.

Overall: Elon trails 9-31
At Elon: Elon trails 2-6
At UNC: Elon trails 4-16
At Neutral Site: None
Last 10 Meetings: Elon trails 2-8

600 Club
Already Elon’s all-time winningest coach, skipper Mike Kennedy achieved a milestone by winning his 600th career game with a 12-2 victory at Wofford on April 12. Kennedy currently has 600 wins to his credit, all in the maroon and gold.

The Streaker
Junior Casey Jones is currently in the midst of a 22-game hitting streak, the longest for the program since Alex Swim’s 25-game streak in 2012. During the streak, which began on March 9 at Coastal Carolina, Jones has gone 38-for-79 (.481) with 10 doubles, three triples and two homers. He has also driven in 21 runs in that span. Jones has recorded two or more hits in 14 of the 22 games.

Extra Base Machine
In 23 games this season, junior Tyler McVicar has gone 16-for-54 (.296) at the plate. Of his 16 hits, 11 have gone for extra bases. McVicar has five doubles, one triple and is tied for the team lead with five homers. So far this year, he has posted a .704 slugging percentage.

Elon vs. Cancer
In its third season participating in a head-shaving event to raise funds for cancer research, the Elon baseball team has raised over $17,000 for The Vs. Cancer Foundation this year. It is the highest total raised by the squad in the three-year span and brings the total raised to over $41,000.

That’s 200
With its 7-5 victory in the series opener at Samford, Elon picked up its 200th Southern Conference victory since joining the league for the 2004 season.

We Are Family
The 2014 Elon roster sports two pairs of brothers. Junior outfielders Quinn Bower and Blaine Bower are twins from New Cumberland, Pa. The other set of brothers are junior outfielder/first baseman Sam Paone and freshman outfielder D.J. Paone who hail from Jupiter, Fla.

Elon or the Pros?
Elon’s 2014 roster sports two players who chose to don the maroon and gold and forgo a professional career.

Sophomore left-handed pitcher Tyler Manez was picked by the Houston Astros in the 32nd round, number 969 overall, in the 2012 MLB Draft while freshman infielder Nick Zammarelli was a 28th round selection, number 833 overall, of the Boston Red Sox in the 2013 draft.

Junior college transfer Jose Lazaro was also drafted out of high school, but opted to head to college. The right-handed pitcher was a 28th round selection, number 869 overall, by the New York Yankees in the 2011 MLB draft.

30+
With its 34 wins in 2013, Elon has recorded 14 consecutive seasons with at least 30 wins. Elon has won 33, 30, 34, 34, 31, 32, 45, 32, 44, 41, 38, 36, 33 and 34 games in that span. In this time, the Phoenix has made six NCAA Division I Regional appearances (2002, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013).