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ELON, N.C. -- Following a seven-game road swing, the Elon baseball team will return home to Latham Park to begin a five-game homestand against sixth-ranked North Carolina at 4 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon.

Probable Starting Pitchers:
Wednesday
  EU - RH Jim Stokes (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. UNC - RH Benton Moss (0-0, 8.44 ERA)

Scouting North Carolina
Sixth-ranked North Carolina begins the week with an 8-2 overall record and is coming off of a weekend series in which it won two of three games against #21 Southern Cal.

Offensively, UNC is hitting .329 with 34 doubles and three homers.  The team has also swiped 12 bases in 14 attempts.  Colin Moran leads the Tar Heels with a .452 batting average and is tied for the team lead with 14 RBI.  Cody Stubbs is hitting .450 with a team-best 10 doubles and 14 RBI.  Tom Zengel is also over .400, batting .406 with 10 runs and four doubles.

On the mound, UNC sports a 2.80 ERA and has struck out 76 hitters in 90.0 innings.  Opponents are hitting just .256 off of the Tar Heels.

UNC head coach Mike Fox is in his 14th season with the program.  In that time his has compiled a record of 597-248-1.  Overall, Fox is in his 29th season as a head coach and owns a career mark of 1,137-389-5.

Elon Skipper Mike Kennedy
Elon head coach Mike Kennedy is in his 16th season at the helm of the Phoenix program.  The 1991 Elon graduate is the program’s all-time winningest coach and has compiled a career record of 517-356-3 (.592).

Series Notes
Elon and North Carolina have met on the diamond 36 times prior to Wednesday’s tilt.  The maroon and gold is 9-27 all-time against the Tar Heels.  UNC won the only meeting last year by a 16-0 score in Chapel Hill.  The teams last played in Elon on April 6, 2010 with UNC claiming a 4-2 decision.  The first match-up came on March 26, 1909 with UNC winning 6-5.

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.

Elon Baseball Live
This year, WPCM 920 AM will broadcast three editions of Elon Baseball Live featuring Phoenix head coach Mike Kennedy.  Hosted by Taylor Durham, the next show will be held on Thurs., March 22 at 7 p.m. at The Fat Frogg Bar and Grill in Elon.

The final show will be May 15 at 7 p.m. at The Fat Frogg.

Phoenix BaseBLOG
Fans of Elon baseball can get an inside look at the team this year thanks to a blog being written by junior outfielder Niko Fraser.  The blog can be found at www.elonbaseball.wordpress.com or by clicking the link at the top of the Elon baseball home page at elonphoenix.com.

Phoenix Earns Ranking
Following a 3-1 week which included two victories at #30 College of Charleston, Elon found itself among the teams in Perfect Game’s Top-50 rankings.  The Phoenix made its first appearance in the polls this year by checking in at #44.

Extra-Inning Bomb
With the score knotted at two in the 10th inning of game three at College of Charleston, Elon’s Jake Luce connected on an 0-1 pitch for a two-out homer.  The bomb was the first of the year for Luce and proved to be the game-winner as the Phoenix took the series 2-1 with the 3-2 victory.

SoCon Starts
Elon is now in its ninth season as a member of the Southern Conference.  Following its loss at College of Charleston, the Phoenix has compiled an 8-1 mark in its SoCon openers.  The Phoenix rebounded to take the series.  In fact, Elon has never dropped an opening series in SoCon play.

Opponent - 1st Game Result; Series Result
2004 vs. Appalachian State - W, 6-5 (12); W, 3-0
2005 vs. Wofford - W, 12-2 (7); W, 3-0
2006 vs. Western Carolina - W, 13-10; W, 2-1
2007 at Appalachian State - W, 24-2; W, 2-1
2008 vs. The Citadel - W, 7-2; W, 2-1
2009 at Appalachian State - W, 8-6; W, 2-0
2010 at Furman - W, 5-3; W, 2-1
2011 at Appalachian State - W, 10-4; W, 3-0
2012 at #30 College of Charleston - L, 1-7; W, 2-1

Winning Late
A year ago the Phoenix had a lot of late-inning drama.  In fact, Elon won 11 games in its final at bat during the 2011 season.

The Phoenix won its first game in its final at bat in game two of a doubleheader against George Mason on Feb. 18, rallying for four eighth-inning runs in a 4-3 victory.  Elon has three wins in its final at bat this year.

A Tough Road
Elon always plays a tough schedule and 2012 is no different.  The Phoenix will play 14 games against teams that participated in NCAA postseason play in 2011 including a three-game set at two-time defending national champion South Carolina.

Closing it Out
Since 2007 Elon has been very good at closing out games.  The Phoenix has gone a combined 165-13 (.927) when leading after seven innings and 171-13 (.929) when holding a lead following the eighth inning.

Welcome Back
The Phoenix has two pitchers who have returned to the program’s stable of arms after missing all of the 2011 campaign.  Back are Jordan Darnell and Jim Stokes.

Darnell picked up a save in his first appearance since April 21, 2010 when he struck out two in a perfect ninth against George Mason.  Stokes’ first outing this year was a start against North Carolina A&T in which he earned a win.

Webb Gem
Junior right-hander Kyle Webb tossed a gem on opening day.  Webb took a no-hitter into the seventh inning on his way to the win over Akron.  His final line read: 7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K.  The 7.0 IP marked the longest outing by an Elon pitcher on opening day in the school’s NCAA Division I tenure.

Slammed
The first home run of Elon’s 2012 campaign came from an unlikely source.  Sophomore second baseman Sebastian Gomez went deep in the fourth inning of Elon’s 7-1 win over Akron on opening day for what was just the third homer of his career and his first at Latham Park.  Even more impressive was that this one was a grand slam, the first Gomez had ever hit at any level of play.

Tough to K
Last year catcher Alex Swim was one of the toughest hitters in the nation to strike out.  Swim fanned just 11 times in 236 at bats as a sophomore.  He ranked 12th nationally with one K in every 21.5 at bats.

Nationally Ranked
Elon concluded the 2011 season ranked among the national leaders in numerous statistical categories.  The team’s best standing came in stolen bases where the Phoenix finished 11th out of 292 NCAA Division I teams with 114 stolen bases.

Elon also finished in the top-30 in walks (22nd with 278), triples (25th with 21) and hit-by-pitch (27th with 79).

The State of North Carolina Baseball
Records Since 2000 (Elon’s 1st DI Year)
North Carolina 556-230-1
East Carolina 498-257-2
North Carolina St. 443-295
ELON 437-283-2
UNC Wilmington 402-262-1
Charlotte 398-280-2
Western Carolina 389-314-2
UNCG 372-312
Wake Forest 372-322-2
Duke 299-384-1
Appalachian St. 290-377-3
Campbell 287-377-1
High Point 271-410-1
North Carolina A&T 270-393
UNC Asheville 248-429
Davidson 238-375
Gardner-Webb* 231-229-1
N.C. Central^ 1-10
* Moved to DI in 2003
^ Moved to DI in 2012