ELON, N.C. – For the first time this season, the Elon University baseball team will play two midweek contests. The Phoenix will first host the 16th-ranked East Carolina Pirates in a 6:30 p.m. game on Tuesday, April 5, before visiting the North Carolina A&T Aggies for a 6 p.m. bout on Wednesday, April 6.
Live Coverage
Fans can follow the Phoenix via live stats by going to the Elon baseball schedule page at elonphoenix.com. Twitter updates will be posted on the @ElonScores account during the game. The East Carolina game can also be heard on WSML 104.5 FM / 1200 AM and through elonphoenix.com. Fans can watch the ECU game for free on Phoenix All-Access.
The Series
Elon and East Carolina have played 76 times before Tuesday’s game. ECU leads the series 44-31-1, but the Phoenix snapped a 12-game skid to the Pirates with an 8-7 win in 10 innings in Greenville, N.C., earlier this season. The teams first met in 1940 with Elon picking up a 7-1 win.
The Phoenix has met the Aggies 54 times and have come out on top 47 times. A&T has six wins and there has been one tie. Elon downed A&T 7-0 in the first-ever meeting in 1974. The two last got together on April 1, 2014, with Elon claiming a 10-2 victory.
Pitching Matchups
Tuesday:
Elon – LH Jordan Barrett (0-3, 7.84 ERA)
East Carolina – LH Nick Durazo (0-0, 4.76 ERA)
Wednesday:
Elon – TBA
North Carolina A&T – TBA
About East Carolina
East Carolina enters the game ranked as high as 16th in the nation after improving to 19-9 overall by winning two-of-three against Houston. The Pirates are hitting .305 as a team and have scored 158 runs with 52 doubles and 14 home runs in 28 games. On the mound, ECU has a 3.23 ERA. The pitching staff has recorded 200 strikeouts in 251.0 innings and has held opponents to a .251 batting average.
About North Carolina A&T
North Carolina A&T is 7-23 overall after losing two league games to Savannah State over the weekend. The Aggies are hitting .273 as a squad with 54 doubles and 26 home runs through 30 games. A&T pitchers have a combined 8.00 ERA and have struck out 184 in 258.2 innings.
Consecutive Two-Out Runs
Over the course of the first two games of its series against Charleston, Elon scored 10 consecutive runs with two outs. The final eight of the Phoenix’s runs in Friday’s 9-6 victory all came with two outs, as did both runs in Saturday’s 6-2 setback. The streak was snapped when Liam O’Regan led off the second inning with a home run on Sunday.
Pair Near National Stats Lead
Nick Zammarelli and Kyle Jackson are both having solid 2016 seasons and are both near the top of a couple of NCAA statistical rankings (thru games of April 3). Zammarelli currently has 14 doubles to rank second in the nation, just three behind the leader. Jackson’s nine home runs rate 10th, while his 12 doubles rank 18th. He also rates 19th in total bases and 18th in slugging percentage.
On Deck
Elon will leave the state of North Carolina for the first time this season as the Phoenix visits Northeastern for a three-game CAA series. That set is scheduled to begin with a 3 p.m. game on Friday, April 8.