ELON, N.C. – For the second straight season, the Elon University softball team will compete at the Colonial Athletic Association Softball Championships as the fourth-seeded Phoenix face off against fifth-seeded Delaware on Tuesday, May 10, at 3 p.m. in Harrisonburg, Va.
Follow the Phoenix
Fans can keep up with the action of the Phoenix throughout the 2016 CAA Softball Championships via live stats from the program’s schedule page at elonphoenix.com. Updates will also be provided on Twitter on @elonscores or the program’s handle, @ElonUSoftball. Tuesday’s contest against Delaware will be streamed online via CAA.tv.
2016 CAA Softball Championships
For the third consecutive year, James Madison University’s Veterans Memorial Park will host the conference championship tournament, which utilizes a double-elimination format. James Madison (43-4, 18-1 in CAA), currently ranked No. 8 in Division I, is the tournament top seed for the third straight season.
Towson (35-15, 11-8 in CAA) earned the league’s No. 2 seed and squares off against third-seeded College of Charleston (33-21, 11-9 in CAA) on Wednesday at noon. JMU will face the winner between the Phoenix and the Blue Hens on Wednesday, May 11, at 2:30 p.m., while the loser of that contest takes on the loser between the Tigers and the Cougars in a elimination game at 5 p.m. later that day.
Three more games are slated for Thursday, May 12. Teams playing in the first game of the day at noon will earn a spot in Friday’s title contest with a win. The loser, however, will have to come back at 5:00 in another elimination game against an opponent that plays in the same format at 2:30 p.m.
The conference championship game takes place on Friday, May 13 at noon and can be seen live on CAA.tv as well as on the American Sports Network (ASN). A second game will follow, only if necessary, 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. All other games will be broadcast live and for free online via CAA.tv
Tournament Seeds:
1 – James Madison Dukes (43-4, 18-1 in CAA)
2 – Towson Tigers (35-15, 11-8 in CAA)
3 – College of Charleston Cougars (33-21, 11-9 in CAA)
4 – Elon Phoenix (26-23, 9-8 in CAA)
5 – Delaware Blue Hens (29-19, 9-9 in CAA)
Tournament Schedule (times subject to change):
Tuesday, May 10
Game 1: No. 4 Elon vs. No. 5 Delaware – 3:00 p.m.
Wednesday, May 11
Game 2: No. 2 Towson vs. No. 3 College of Charleston – Noon
Game 3: Winner G1 vs. No. 1 James Madison – 2:30 p.m.
Game 4: Loser G1 vs. Loser G2 – 5 p.m.
Thursday, May 12
Game 5: Winner G2 vs. Winner G3 – Noon
Game 6: Winner G4 vs. Loser G3 – 2:30 p.m.
Game 7: Loser G5 vs. Winner G6 – 5:00 p.m.
Friday, May 13
Game 8: Winner G5 vs. Winner G7 – Noon (delayed ASN)
Game 9: If necessary – 30 minutes following Game 8
Saturday, May 14
Rain date if necessary
Versus Delaware
Both teams head into Tuesday’s contest knotted at 4-4 in the all-time meetings between the two programs. The series began in 2001 with Delaware earning an 8-3 win over the Phoenix at Virginia Beach, Va. Last year as CAA opponents for the first time, Elon took two out of three against the Blue Hens with the Phoenix earning a 5-4 victory at home via Hannah Olson’s walk-off RBI single in the series finale. Both teams were scheduled to face each other last weekend in a series at Newark, Del., but weather and unplayable field conditions forced the cancellation of the series.
Leading Off For Elon
• Sophomore Kara Shutt became the Phoenix’s all-time single-season leader in doubles after posting her 21st on Saturday, April 30, versus James Madison. In her short career, Shutt has recorded 35 doubles, which is seventh on the program’s all-time list.
• Shutt is also currently fourth in the country in doubles per game. The Greensboro, N.C., native averages 0.43 doubles per contest.
• Speaking of breaking into the program’s top-10 career records lists, Emily Roper is now seventh in school history in home runs (20) and RBI (94). Shutt’s .570 career slugging percentage currently sits third on the program’s all-time list with Roper also joining the top-10 list at .487.
• Elon is hitting .285 on the season and has scored 238 runs, its highest run total ever during the tenure of fifth-year head coach Kathy Bocock.
• The Phoenix has registered 391 hits and can have its first 400-hit campaign since the 2011 season. On the year, Elon is 19-3 when it outhits the opponent and 12-5 when tallying double-digit hits.
• Three regulars in Elon’s lineup are hitting over .300 in 2016. Shutt is hitting over .400, posting a .410 average. That average currently stands second in the CAA and is among the leaders in the CAA.
• Senior pitcher Kayla Caruso is one save shy of tying Jen Lamb’s (2003-04) and Caitlin O’Shea’s (2012-15) all-time school record of six in that category.
Perfecto
Rookie Abby Barker tossed the program’s first-ever perfect game at the Division I level in Elon’s 8-0 win over Niagara on Friday, March 11. The Granville, Ohio, native had three strikeouts in her 6.0 innings of work and only threw 74 pitches in the contest against the Purple Eagles. It’s also the first time that Elon has no-hit an opponent since 2011.
Caruso Named CAA Pitcher of the Week
A major contributor to the Phoenix’s 5-4 victory over the sixth-ranked James Madison was Caruso, as the senior tossed all 15 innings in the contest. She held the Dukes to four runs while striking out seven and walking only one batter. The Kennesaw, Ga., native was rewarded for her efforts against the Dukes and selected as the CAA Pitcher of the Week for the first time this season and second overall in her career on May 2. The 15 innings pitched is the longest outing for a pitcher in the country this season.
Scouting the Phoenix (26-23, 9-8 CAA)
Elon finished its second year in the CAA with a 9-8 ledger and posted its first consecutive conference winning seasons since 2010 and 2011. This is also the first time that Elon has finished with back-to-back winning seasons under fifth-year head coach Kathy Bocock.
Shutt is among the leaders in the CAA in total hits with 68, which is Elon’s highest hit total for a player since Tomeka Watson belted out 72 in 2010. She has a chance to join the program’s 70-hit club this week, which would move her into the top-five for hits in a single-season at Elon. Shutt is also one of nine players in a balanced Phoenix lineup that has 10 or more RBI on the year with Emily Roper pacing the squad with 31.
During conference play, Caruso has nearly half of the Phoenix nine wins with her 4-2 ledger and an ERA of 2.11 in 53.0 innings. Overall, she leads the team with nine wins and has a 2.74 ERA in 97.0 overall innings with 60 strikeouts. The Phoenix pitching staff collectively has a 3.21 ERA with 199 strikeouts, which would be the team’s highest strikeout total since 2012.
Scouting Delaware (29-19, 9-9 CAA)
The Blue Hens enter the tournament after a year absence after. In its most recent series, Delaware dropped two out of three at Towson on April 30-May 1, which included a pair of nine inning games.
The Blue Hens are hitting .294 on the season with five regulars hitting better than .300. Mariah Kondravy has a team-best .381 average and along with 14 doubles and 41 RBI. Teammate Leanna Gearhart is second on the team with her .346 average and leads the CAA with eight triples. Rookie Anna Steinmetz has been one of the program’s main run producers with her team-high 13 home runs and 40 RBI.
Delaware has relied on the arms of Kiersten Coffman and Carolyn Szymanski as their main aces this season. Coffman has a 2.98 ERA in her 152.2 innings and has struck out 139 batters with an 18-7 record. Szymanski has tossed 123.0 innings and has an 11-10 record and 73 strikeouts.
On Deck
Depending on the outcome of the contest, Elon will either face James Madison on Wednesday, May 11, at 2:30 or the loser between Towson and CofC later that day at 5 p.m. in an elimination game.