ELON, N.C. – Carrying a season-best tying six-game winning streak, the Elon University softball team welcomes NC State to Hunt Softball Park for a midweek, nonconference bout on Wednesday, April 12. Opening pitch is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start.
Live Stats | Watch | Game Notes
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. The game will also be streamed on Elon’s Phoenix All-Access channel.
Inside the Series
Elon and NC State meet for the 18th time on the diamond in the maroon and gold’s fastpitch era. The Wolfpack leads the series 10-7, but Elon has won the past two games and three out of the last five. Last season, the Phoenix earned a 4-2 win at Raleigh for its second straight victory over the Wolfpack. Hannah Olson had a solo home run in that contest for Elon.
Leading Off for Elon
• NC State will be the sixth and final team from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) that Elon will face on its 2017 schedule.
• Elon has a 3-4 mark this season against the ACC including a doubleheader sweep at Virginia Tech last Wednesday, its first ever wins against the Hokies. The Phoenix also earned a win versus Virginia on Feb. 19.
• The Phoenix posted a 5-0 ledger last week and has won six straight overall. Along with its wins at Virginia Tech, Elon also clinched its first Colonial Athletic Association series with a three-game sweep at Drexel last weekend.
• The six-game win streak ties the Phoenix’s longest streak of the season and is one shy of tying the program’s all-time Division mark of seven straight wins.
• Junior Kara Shutt was named the CAA Player of the Week on Monday, April 10. The Greensboro, N.C., native picked up her fourth career league weekly honor after batting .444 (8-for-18) with a pair of home runs, five RBI and added a double and a triple to her stat line last week.
• Freshman Kenna Quinn also received weekly CAA honors as the Rookie of the Week. The Boiling Springs, S.C., native was credited with a 3-0 record and a 2.69 ERA in her 13.0 innings. She earned both wins in relief at Virginia Tech.
• Senior Alaina Hall continues her movement up the program’s all-time career hit list. The Suwanee, Ga., native added six hits last week and moved to No. 3 all-time in school history with 223 career base knocks.
• With her team and CAA-leading 41 RBI this season, senior Carey Million is already the seventh player in school history with 40 or more RBI in a single-season. She is only seven RBI shy of tying the all-time single-season school-record of 47 by Emerald Graham (2010-11) in 2011.
• Junior Kiandra Mitchum tied the program’s all-time saves record last week at Virginia Tech with the sixth of her career. She is currently sharing the honors with Jen Lamb (2003-04) and Caitlin O’Shea (2012-15).
• Shutt moved into the top-five in school history in career doubles after legging out her 40th over the weekend at Drexel. Her and Million also moved into the program’s top-10 in career RBI with 93 and 97, respectively.
Scouting the Phoenix
With its current six-game win streak, Elon has already tied its win total from last season as the Phoenix sits with a 26-13 overall record. The victories also gave head coach Kathy Bocock 389 for her career and 152 overall at Elon. The game against the Wolfpack will be the 31st nonconference game this season for the Phoenix, who has posted a 21-9 record in non-league contests this season.
Elon’s offense is hitting .285 on the season and is second in the league in runs scored (194), hits (291), RBI (168), doubles (50) and triples (10). Elon has three players in the regular lineup hitting .300 or better including Hall (.405), Shutt (.361) and Million (.342). Hall slipped to second in the league in batting average last week, but still paces the CAA in total hits with 51. The Phoenix also has league leaders in RBI (Million – 41) and runs scored (Olson – 37).
The Phoenix pitching staff has posted the third-best ERA in the conference at 2.82 in 265.2 innings of action. Elon has also struck out 185 batters this season, second in the CAA. Mitchum is 14-7 this season with her win total the highest for a Phoenix pitcher since 2012. She also is second in the CAA in strikeouts (138), innings pitched (145.0) and fourth in total ERA (2.32).
Scouting the Wolfpack
NC State sits at 14-25 this season and 8-4 in ACC play after coming off a conference series win at Georgia Tech last weekend, taking the final two games over the Yellow Jackets. Prior to those two win, the Wolfpack had lost five straight and nine of its past 10.
In the batter’s box, NC State is hitting .264 with 261 hits, 39 doubles, 30 homers and 148 RBI. Two players for the Wolfpack are hitting better than .300 in Jade Caraway (.369) and Tyler Ross (.303). Molly Hutchinson is a hair shy of .300 with her .298 average and has a team-best nine home runs and 25 RBI.
In the circle, the Wolfpack has a 6.61 ERA in 242.1 innings. NC State pitchers have also struck out 116 batters while walking 104. Peyton Silverman has made the most starts toeing the rubber for the Wolfpack with 23 in her 29 appearances. She has posted a 10-14 record with a 5.25 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 150.2 innings.
On Deck
Elon continues its homestand with a jump back into league play as the Phoenix welcomes Towson for a three-game series this weekend, April 15-16. The series begins with a twin bill on Saturday at 1 p.m.