BROOKLINE, Mass. – A dominating pitching performance from senior Michael Elefante and some timely hitting lifted the Elon University baseball team to a 2-0 victory over the Northeastern Huskies on Saturday afternoon at Friedman Diamond.
Elon (11-20, 3-7 Colonial Athletic Association) saw Ryne Ogren go 3-for-4 with one RBI, while Tyler McVicar was 1-for-3 and drove in the Phoenix’s other run.
Northeastern (15-13, 4-3) was limited to just two hits, one each from Max Burt and Jake Farrell.
Elefante (1-1) threw 8.0 innings, allowing just the two hits and two walks. He struck out a career-high 11 hitters and retired 19 of the last 20 hitters he faced, including 13 consecutive at one point. Chris Hall tossed a 1-2-3 ninth to pick up his sixth save of the year.
The loss was charged to James Mulry (1-6) who gave up one unearned run on four hits in 6.0 innings. Mulry struck out seven.
How It Happened: The pitcher’s duel saw a combined 10 strikeouts through three innings before Elon broke through for a run in the fourth. With runners on first and second and one out, McVicar sent an 0-1 pitch through the right side for an RBI single to give the Phoenix a 1-0 advantage.
The maroon and gold would make it 2-0 in the seventh on Ogren’s infield single with two outs.
Notes: Elon recorded its first shutout since a 1-0 win over Georgia Southern on March 14, 2014… That was also the last time that the Phoenix allowed just two hits in a game… Ogren has hit in a season-high five consecutive games.
On Deck: The two squads will square off in the rubber match of the three-game series on Sunday, April 10, at 12 p.m.