Elon Softball Faces Duke in Durham on Wednesday

ELON, N.C. – The Elon University softball team is set to face its fourth Atlantic Coast Conference opponent of the season as the Phoenix travels to Duke for a midweek matchup on Wednesday, March 11. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Follow the Phoenix
• Live stats will be available for the game by going to the team’s schedule page at elonphoenix.com.
• Updates will also be posted on Twitter at the team’s account @ElonSoftball.
• The game will be streamed on the ACC Network Extra via Watch ESPN or the ESPN app.

Looking Back Versus UNCG
• Elon went 1-2 in its three-game series versus its longtime Triad rival UNCG this past weekend, March 7-8.
• The Phoenix fell to the Spartans in a doubleheader at home last Saturday before rebounding with an 8-3 win at UNCG on Sunday.
• Lauryn Clarke hit her first home run of the season in Elon’s win over the Spartans on Sunday. Ally Repko and Claudia Penny drove in a pair of runs for Elon in the contest.

Youth Movement
• The Phoenix enters the 2020 season with one of its youngest rosters in recent years. Among its 18-player roster, the Phoenix have 14 athletes that are freshmen and sophomores with 11 of those players having seen time on the field this season.
• Elon is even less experienced in the circle, with senior Kenna Quinn entering the 2020 campaign as the lone pitcher who has started a game at the Division I level.

Newcomers Stepping Up
• Elon’s newcomers have stepped up during the early portion of the season. The Phoenix has started eight fresh faces across its lineup and in the circle so far in 2020.
• Megan Grant has been one of the standout newcomers this year for Elon. The Vinton, Va., native leads the team with her .355 batting average, 22 hits and four doubles. She also has a team-high six multi-hit games this season.
• In the circle, Elon has relied on the new faces of freshman Kaitlin King and graduate student Alexa Nemeth. King ranks second on the team in innings pitched (41.1) and wins (four) while Nemeth is second on the team in strikeouts with 16.

Series Breakdown
• Elon and Duke will meet for just the third time on the softball diamond on Wednesday. Both teams have faced each other every season since the Blue Devils’ program was started in 2018.
• The series is knotted at 1-1 with both teams winning on each of their home fields. The Phoenix fell to the Blue Devils, 1-0, the last time the programs met in Durham, N.C., in 2018.
• Last year, the Phoenix came away victorious with a 5-4 win at Hunt Softball Park. Elon rallied with three runs in the bottom of the seventh including one being scored off a walk-off single from Keagan Goldwait.

Scouting Duke
• The Blue Devils are coming off an undefeated weekend at its home tournament, the Duke Invitational, and have won eight straight to move to 22-4 overall.
• As a team, Duke is hitting .322 on the year with five players hitting better than .300. Sophomore Caroline Jacobsen leads the team with her .384 batting average and is ninth in the country in RBI with 31.
• Duke’s pitching staff has a 1.63 ERA so far in 2020. Three players have seen the majority of the time toeing the rubber for the Blue Devils with junior Peyton St. George leading the team with her 65.1 innings. St. George has a 9-2 record with a 2.14 ERA and has struck out 63 batters.

On Deck
The Phoenix hosts its final tournament of the season, the Elon Softball Cardinal Invite, this weekend, March 13-15. The tournament begins with the maroon and gold facing Bucknell on Friday, March 13, at 4 p.m.