Softball Hosts the Elon Phoenix Tournament this Weekend

ELON, N.C. – The Elon University softball team concludes its 10-game homestand this weekend with its second home tournament of the season, the Elon Phoenix Tournament on March 10-12. The Phoenix will host Fairleigh Dickinson, Presbyterian and Norfolk State at Hunt Softball Park as Elon will play five games at the tournament.

Elon Phoenix Tournament Schedule
Elon vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (DH), Friday, March 10, at 2:30 p.m.
Elon vs. Presbyterian, Saturday, March 11, at 12:15 p.m.
Elon vs. Norfolk State, Saturday, March 11, at 2:30 p.m.
Elon vs. Norfolk State, March 12, at 2:15 p.m.

Follow the Phoenix
Fans can keep up with the action of the Phoenix all season 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.

Versus the Field
Elon is 8-1 all-time versus the field this weekend of Presbyterian (5-1), Fairleigh Dickinson (2-0) and Norfolk State (1-0). The Phoenix had won five straight versus the Blue Hose before suffering its lone defeat of the series last season at the USC Upstate Tournament. Elon swept the Knights last season in a twin bill while the Phoenix will face Norfolk State for the first time since 2007.

Leading Off for Elon
• The Phoenix will conclude its 10-game homestand with its five scheduled games this weekend. So far, the maroon and gold has posted a 3-2 ledger during the streak and a 10-3 mark overall at Hunt Softball Park this season.
• Junior Kara Shutt added her first home run of the season on Tuesday, March 7, versus Atlantic Coast Conference foe Pitt. She became fifth player to hit a home run this season for the Phoenix this season, who has six as a team overall. That total is tied for fourth in the Colonial Athletic Association.
• In the batter’s box, Elon is hitting .272 with five players in the regular rotation hitting .300 or better led by Alaina Hall’s .392 average.
• Hall moved into a tie for ninth on the program’s all-time career hits list with Hope Rehman (1993-96) on Tuesday versus Pitt. The Suwanee, Ga., native has 192 hits for her career.
• After this weekend, Elon will embark on a nine-game road swing starting with a trip to in-state rival Charlotte on March 15. The Phoenix will return home on April 1, versus UNCW for its first CAA series of the season.
• Junior Kiandra Mitchum is second in the CAA in total strikeouts with 36 and leads the league in total appearances at 13. Rookie Kenna Quinn is third in the conference with 51.2 innings pitched.

Scouting the Phoenix
Collectively, Elon is hitting .272 with 119 hits, 20 doubles, three triples and 63 RBI as a team. The Phoenix has scored 72 runs, which is fourth in the CAA, while drawing 55 walks, good for second in the league. Elon batters have also been hit-by-pitch 55 times, which is second in the CAA. The Phoenix bats have come alive in the sixth frame as Elon is batting a team-best .339 with 16 total runs.

A number of Phoenix players are having productive seasons at the plate so far in 2017. Hall’s 20 total hits this season is tied for second in the CAA as the senior is hitting .432 in the Phoenix’s 13 home games this season. Erica Serafini is tied for the CAA-lead with five doubles and is hitting .333 on the year, third-best on the team. Serafini’s 12 RBI is second on the squad behind Carey Million’s 13 while Million also paces the team with her two home runs.

The Phoenix pitching staff will look to have a great weekend as the unit enters the tournament with a 3.56 cumulative ERA in 118.0 innings of action, good for third in the league. Quinn is sixth in the CAA in ERA at 2.44 and is tied for the team-lead with four wins along with Mitchum.

Scouting the Knights
Fairleigh Dickinson enters the weekend with a 1-9 record in 2017 and have lost three straight after coming off playing at the Frost Classic Tournament at Chattanooga, Tenn., on Feb. 24-26. Members of the Northeast Conference, the Knights were picked sixth in the 2017 NEC Preseason Coaches’ Poll.

Offensively, the Knights are batting .247 on the season with three regulars hitting better than .300. Sophomore Reanna Cervantes is batting a team-high .370 while freshman Madison Emerson is second at .357. Kellie Natham is third with her .318 average and leads the squad with eight RBI.

In the circle, FDU has posted a 10.12 team ERA, giving up 66 earned runs in 58.2 innings of work. The Knights have struck out 40 batters while walking 36. Erica Johnson has the lone win on the season in the circle for FDU at 1-3 on the season. She’s also pitched a team-high 20.2 innings on the season.

Scouting Presbyterian
The Blue Hose are 8-13 this season and are coming off a twin bill split at home versus Youngstown State on Tuesday, March 7. Prior to the season, Presbyterian was chosen to finish sixth in the 2017 Big South Preseason Poll.

On the season, PC is batting .216 with two player hitting north of .300 in Rebekka Gross (.353) and Megan Anderson (.300). The Blue Hose have hustled for 14 doubles to go with 50 RBI, four triples and six home runs. Senior Blaire Miller is the squad’s main run producer with team-best in home runs (two) and RBI (11). Miller is also the niece of Phoenix head coach Kathy Bocock.

In the circle, Presbyterian’s pitching staff has posted a 4.30 ERA after giving up a combined 80 earned runs in 130.1 innings pitched. The Blue Hose have struck out a total of 73 batters, while allowing 57 walks. Four players have seen time toeing the rubber for PC with Katie Brown throwing a team-high 55 innings in 11 starts. She is 5-5 in the circle with a 4.71 ERA and 24 strikeouts.

Scouting Norfolk State
Norfolk State enters the Elon Phoenix Tournament with a 5-5 record on the season and is coming off a 2-2 ledger at the Camel Stampede Invitational last weekend. The Spartans were picked to finish second in the Northern Division of the 2017 Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference (MEAC) and had three players voted to the league’s Preseason All-MEAC Team in senior Kayla McNair (first team), and juniors Seana Moriarty and Megan Przeslawski (second team).

At the plate, NSU is hitting .254 on the year with 12 doubles and five home runs, while also recording 35 walks and 27 RBIs. Devon Bitler leads the offensive charge at the plate with a .448 batting average. Kylee Lopez is also hitting above .300 with a .346 average. She is tied for the squad-lead with six RBIs.

The Spartan’s pitching staff has posted a 2.82 ERA after giving up 27 earned runs in 67.0 innings of work. NSU has relied mostly on a two-person staff of Hunter Halford and Przeslawski in 2017 with Halford leading the way with a 4-2 ledger in the circle and a 1.68 ERA in her 41.2 innings.

On Deck
Elon heads to in-state rival Charlotte for only its second true road game of the season on Wednesday, March 15. Opening pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.