HARRISONBURG, Va. – A Ty Adcock two-RBI double in the bottom of the ninth tied the CAA Championship final at 5-5, but the Phoenix (33-24) came up just short as UNCW edged the maroon and gold 6-5 in extras on Sunday, May 26 at Veterans Memorial Park.
Joe Sprake was tagged with the loss after allowing the decisive run on two hits in 1.1 innings of relief. Starter Brandon Justice went 4.2 innings and gave up three runs on five hits and a walk while adding two punch outs. Adcock tossed two complete innings and fanned three, while Jared Wetherbee and Kyle Greenler also made appearances.
Four Elon batters turned in multi-hit efforts: Matt Oldham went 2-for-3 with a double while Anthony Galason, Cam Devanney, and Tyler Stanley all batted 2-for-5. Nick Cicci hit 1-for-4 with a double and Adcock finished 1-for-5 for the team’s other hit.
How It Happened: Elon had an opportunity to open the scoring in the bottom of the third. With two outs, Satterfield walked and stole second before Devanney also walked to put two on for Adcock. However, he just missed the 1-1 pitch as UNCW made the catch deep in left center to keep the Phoenix off the board. The Seahawks (32-29) then opened the scoring in the fourth as Noah Bridges singled to shallow center to plate Cole Weiss from second. A Chris Thorburn bloop single to left then brought home another run as UNCW went up 2-0. In the fifth, Galason couldn’t get to a Weiss hit down the left-field line, and the double allowed Greg Jones to score from first to push the lead to 3-0.
With Bridges on first in the sixth, UNCW’s Brooks Baldwin put down a sac bunt. Adcock looked to make the tag, but bobbled the ball into foul territory. He then turned and fired to Satterfield at third, but the throw was too high and Bridges headed home for the 4-0 advantage. Elon’s offense started clicking in the home half of the frame as Oldham doubled to the right corner of the field and Cicci followed with a two-bagger to the gap in right. Spurlin then walked and Stanley singled through the left side to bring around Cicci as the Phoenix closed the gap, 4-2. UNCW retired Cranston for out number two, but Galason continued the damage with a hit back up the middle, allowing Spurlin to come in.
UNCW looked to add another tally in the seventh as Jones singled through the right side, took second on a passed ball, and reached third on a Weiss ground out to short. Adcock then induced another ground out before handing the ball off to Wetherbee, and the sophomore left-hander sent Bridges back to the dugout swinging on a full count. The teal, gold, and navy made it 5-3 in the top of the ninth as a Weiss double down the left-field line plated Jones from first. With Elon down to its last three outs, Satterfield drew a one-out walk and Devanney followed with a single to left center. UNCW’s Noah Liles couldn’t get to an Adcock hit to left, and the double allowed the maroon and gold to pull even.
In the 10th, Thorburn hit a two-out single to left and advanced on a wild pitch. Liles then doubled down the right-field line to put the Seahawks back on top, 6-5. Stanley led off the frame with a hit through the right side and Galason walked to put two on for the Phoenix. Unfortunately, UNCW got Satterfield swinging and Devanney fouled out to bring Elon’s season to an end.
Notes: This was the first time since 2010 that the CAA deciding game went to extra innings…This was Elon’s first appearance in the CAA title game. Sunday was also the team’s first tournament championship game appearance since the 2013 team won the SoCon…It was the third meeting between the two teams in the last four days…This was the fifth time in Elon’s Division I era that the Phoenix had a tournament game go to extras…The maroon and gold had four All-Tournament Team selections in Adcock, Devanney, Dean McCarthy, and Oldham.
2019 CAA Championship All-Tournament Team
Ty Adcock, Elon
Cam Devanney, Elon
Ian Fair, Northeastern
Jake Farrell, Northeastern
Dean McCarthy, Elon
Griffin McLarty, College of Charleston
Matt Oldham, Elon
Landen Roupp, UNCW
Zarion Sharpe, UNCW
Bodie Sheehan, William & Mary
Cole Weiss, UNCW
Most Outstanding Performer: Greg Jones, UNCW