ELON, N.C. -- The 2013 Elon baseball season will begin at 3 p.m. on Friday as the Phoenix is slated to take on the Marist Red Foxes as part of the 2013 Country Inn and Suites Elon Invitational that will run the entire weekend.  Along with Marist, VCU and Boston College will take part in the tournament.

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Probable Starting Pitchers:
Friday
EU: LH Dylan Clark (0-0. 0.00 ERA) vs. MC: RH Brett Houseal (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Saturday
EU: RH Kyle Webb (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. BC: RH Josh Gorman (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Sunday
EU: RH David Whitehead (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. VCU: LH Ryan Farrar (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Country Inn and Suites Elon Invitational Insider
The 2013 Country Inn and Suites Elon Invitational will feature two games a day at Elon’s Latham Park.  The weekend schedule is as follows:

Friday, Feb. 15
VCU vs. Boston College (11 a.m.)
Elon vs. Marist (3 p.m.)

Saturday, Feb. 16
Elon vs. Boston College (12 p.m.)
Marist vs. VCU (4 p.m.)

Sunday, Feb. 17
Boston College vs. Marist (11 a.m.)
Elon vs. VCU (3 p.m.)

Elon-Marist Series History
Elon and Marist have met on the diamond on three occassions with the maroon and gold holding a 2-1 edge in the all-time series.  All three meetings came in a 2002 series at Elon’s Latham Park.  The Phoenix took the opener 13-6 on Feb. 22 before dropping a 6-4 contest in game two.  Elon claimed a 7-5 victory in the rubber match of that set.

Elon-Boston College Series History
Elon and Boston College have never played prior to this weekend’s tilt.

Elon-VCU Series History
The maroon and gold has met VCU twice in baseball with both games being played in Richmond, Va.  Elon has won both previous meetings with the Rams.  The first meeting came on Feb. 17, 1996 with Elon claiming a 3-1 victory.  The following year, the first for Elon skipper Mike Kennedy, the maroon and gold picked up a 10-7 win on the road on March 25.

Season Opening Numbers
• The most runs that Elon has scored in its first game of the season is 17.  The maroon and gold has done that on three occassions – vs. Whitsett Institue in 1905 (17-1), vs. Williams in 1960 (17-8) and vs. LaSalle in 2008 (17-2).
• The most runs that Elon has allowed in its first game of the year is 38 vs. Guilford in 1900.  It was the first-ever game for the program.
• Elon has posted 15 opening day shutouts while suffering just five shutouts in game one of the season.
• 18 season openers have been decided by one run.  Elon is 8-10 in those games.

Preseason Prognostications
Winners of three of the last five SoCon regular-season crowns, Elon was selected to finish near the top of the league standings again in 2013.  In voting by the league’s coaches, Elon was chosen as the SoCon’s preseason favorite by the league’s coaches, while the media tabbed the Phoenix to finish second.

Preseason Honors
Multiple Elon players have received preseason recognition.  Senior catcher Alex Swim was a third-team preseason All-American as named by the NCBWA.  Senior right-handed reliever Nate Young was one of 75 players named to the watch list for the Stopper of the Year Award.  Swim, senior left-handed starting pitcher Dylan Clark and junior first baseman Ryan Kinsella were all first-team preseason All-SoCon picks.  Finally, Young was a second-team preseason All-SoCon selection.

Lucky #13
In the initial mid-major poll issued by College Baseball Daily, Elon checked in at #13 – the highest ranking of any SoCon program.  League rivals Western Carolina (#14) and College of Charleston (#19) also appear in the poll.  Three other opponents of the maroon and gold are also ranked – #1 Louisville, #5 Coastal Carolina and #17 UNC Wilmington.  SoCon foe Samford was among the other teams receiving votes.

Oh Captain, My Captain
The Phoenix named four captains for the 2013 season in mid-January.  The captains this year are senior pitcher Dylan Clark, senior outfielder Niko Fraser, senior catcher Alex Swim and junior infielder Sebastian Gomez.