Game Notes
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Live Audio (Sunday)

ELON, N.C. -- Looking to remain in contention for the 2011 Southern Conference regular-season title, the Elon Phoenix baseball team will play host to the Davidson Wildcats in a three-game league series beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.  Games two and three are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Saturday and 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday
Elon: Sr. RH Ken Ferrer (4-3, 3.67 ERA, 56.1 IP, 49 H, 29 R, 23 ER, 29 BB, 42 K)
Davidson: Jr. LH Chris Lamb (1-5, 2.98 ERA, 66.1 IP, 63 H, 29 R, 22 ER, 15 BB, 75 K)

Saturday
Elon: Sr. RH Thomas Girdwood (2-4, 3.92 ERA, 39.0 IP, 37 H, 30 R, 17 ER, 22 BB, 25 K)
Davidson: Sr. RH Ian Horkley (4-3, 3.91 ERA, 50.2 IP, 53 H, 25 R, 22 ER, 8 BB, 37 K)

Sunday
Elon: So. LH Dylan Clark (1-3, 2.57 ERA, 42.0 IP, 40 H, 17 R, 12 ER, 19 BB, 26 K)
Davidson: Jr. RH Ryan Overcash (4-3, 3.91 ERA, 50.2 IP, 53 H, 25 R, 22 ER, 8 BB, 37 K)

Series History
Elon owns an all-time mark of 31-28-1 against Davidson and has won 11 of the last 12 meetings against the Wildcats. The Phoenix swept the three-game set in Davidson last year by scores of 8-3, 12-4 and 4-2 (11 innings).

On Deck
Following this weekend, Elon will play its next five games on the road beginning with a 6 p.m. contest at UNC Wilmington on Tuesday night. That will be followed by a trip to The Citadel for the weekend and a visit to Old Dominion on May 10.

In-Game Chat
If you can not be at any of the Phoenix’s road games, join in with Elon’s free interactive live online chat. Just click on the link on the Elon baseball home page.

Reaching 500
In his 15th season as the Elon skipper, Mike Kennedy claimed career win number 500 with a 9-0 victory over Georgia Southern on April 24. Already Elon’s all-time winningest coach, Kennedy boasts a career record of 501-348-3 (.590).

Closing it Out
Since 2007 Elon has been very good at closing out games. The Phoenix has gone a combined 153-12 (.927) when leading after seven innings and 157-13 (.924) when holding a lead following the eighth inning.

What a Difference a Year Makes
As is the case at most programs across the country, Elon’s offensive numbers have dropped off while pitching numbers are better. Most of that is due to the new NCAA bat regulations.

The most notable differences for Elon through 44 games: batting average is down .050 points (.299-.249), runs are down by 104 (359-255), hits are down 105 (468-363) and homers are down by 35 (61-26), ERA is down by 1.79 points (5.95-4.16), hits allowed are down 85 (474-389), runs allowed are down by 63 (296-233) and opponent's are hitting .040 points less (.297-.257).

Strong as a Bull(pen)
Lately the Elon bullpen has been extremely impressive.  The unit put together span of 32.1 innings without allowing a run.  The Phoenix bullpen surrendered a run in the 10th inning of the first game against Wofford on April 8 and then did not allow another run until the 7th inning of game two at Georgia Southern.

04.08 vs. Wofford: 0 runs in 2.0 innings
04.09 vs. Wofford: 0 runs in 4.0 innings
04.10 vs. Wofford: 0 runs in 4.1 innings
04.15 vs. Col. of Charleston: 0 runs in 3.0 innings
04.16 vs. Col. of Charleston: 0 runs in 5.0 innings
04.17 vs. Col. of Charleston: 0 runs in 5.0 innings
04.19 vs. High Point: 0 runs in 3.0 innings
04.20 vs. Old Dominion: 0 runs in 3.0 innings
04.22 at Georgia Southern: 0 runs in 3.0 innings

Streaking
Elon pitcher John Brebbia currently sports a 9-0 career record, including a 7-0 mark this season. Brebbia’s nine-game winning streak currently ranks tied for fourth nationally.

Active Winning Streaks for Pitchers (Through April 25)
Pitcher - W
Will Roberts, Virginia - 15
Taylor Jungmann, Texas - 10
Will Helms, App. State - 10
JOHN BREBBIA, ELON - 9
John Neely, Texas Tech - 9
Greg Gonzalez, Fresno St. - 9
Kurt Schluter, Stetson - 9
Tyler Ray, Troy - 9

A Milestone Game
Sophomore lefty Dylan Clark earned the first win of his career by shutting out the Georgia Southern Eagles for a career-long six innings on April 24. The Phoenix won the game 9-0 and Clark garnered the win, his first in six career decisions.

In the game, freshman second baseman Sebastian Gomez also hit the first homer of his career, a solo shot in the ninth inning.

Finally, the victory proved to be the 500th in the career of Elon head coach Mike Kennedy.

Sit ‘Em Down!
Twice in a three game span Elon pitchers got on a roll and retired numerous hitters in a row. On April 24, the Phoenix retired 18 Georgia Southern hitters in a row. Then on April 27, Elon hurlers set down the final 15 hitters of the game against Wake Forest.

Haven’t We Seen You Before?
Senior pitcher Thomas Girdwood recorded his 95th career appearance when he started at East Carolina on April 6 to tie Kevin Regan (2003-06) for the program’s most career appearances. Girdwood then surpassed Regan’s mark when he appeared in relief against College of Charleston on April 17.

Collecting 200 (And More)
Senior infielder Neal Pritchard had two hits in Elon’s 9-4 win over Old Dominion on April 5, pushing his career total to 200.  Number 200 was a RBI single to left in the bottom of the eighth inning.  That performance left Pritchard just three hits shy of moving into a tie for 10th on the program’s all-time hits chart.

Pritchard’s three-hit night against Wofford on April 8 moved him into a tie for 10th on the program’s all-time hit chart with Jim Swenson (1999-2002) with 203 hits.

Pritchard now ranks ninth on the chart with 217 hits.

400
Elon’s 6-2 victory over Wright State on March 5 marked the 400th win of the program’s tenure at the NCAA Division I level. Elon’s first year of Division I play was the 2000 season.

The State of North Carolina Baseball
(Records of D-I Programs Since 2000)
1. North Carolina 530-222-1
2. East Carolina 477-248-2
3. North Carolina State 424-284
4. ELON 420-275-2
5. UNC Wilmington 391-244-1
6. Charlotte 378-270-2
7. Western Carolina 375-301-2
8. Wake Forest 355-313-2
9. UNC Greensboro 351-307
10. Duke 285-372-1
11. Campbell 276-364-1
12. Appalachian State 274-366-3
13. High Point 260-396-1
14. North Carolina A&T 257-378
15. Gardner-Webb 247-239-1*
16. UNC Asheville 241-412
17. Davidson 234-363
* Gardner-Webb’s first D-I year was 2003