Elon Softball Tournament Ballpark Hunt Softball Park Location Elon, N.C. Weather Live Stats Click Here Tournament Central Click Here Game 1 vs. Niagara Time March 11 - 4:30 p.m. Series Elon leads 1-0 Game 2 vs. Oakland Time March 12 - 12:15 p.m. Series Elon trails 0-1 Game 3 vs. Niagara Time March 12 - 2:30 p.m. Game 4 vs. Central Connecticut State Time March 13 - 12:00 p.m. Series Elon trails 0-1

ELON, N.C. – The Elon University softball team hosts its second and final tournament of the season, the Elon Softball Tournament, this weekend as the maroon and gold welcomes the field of Central Connecticut State, Oakland and Niagara to Hunt Softball Park beginning on Friday, March 11 through Sunday, March 13.
 
Elon Softball Tournament Schedule
Friday, March 11
vs. Niagara: 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 12
vs. Oakland: 12:15 p.m.
vs. Niagara: 2:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 13
vs. Central Connecticut State: 12:00 p.m.
 
Live Coverage
Fans can follow the Phoenix via live stats over the weekend at the tournament. Updates will also be provided on Twitter at @elonscores and at the program's handle @ElonUSoftball.
 
Series Histories
The Phoenix has met with each of the teams in the field only once on the softball diamond. Elon and Oakland last played each other in 2006 in Burlington, N.C., with the Phoenix suffering a 1-0 defeat. Elon earned a 6-5 win over Niagara in 2014 at its home tournament, but fell to CCSU, 1-0, last year.
 
Leading Off For Elon
• Going into the weekend, the Phoenix is hitting .311 collectively as a team and has scored 106 runs with 32 doubles and 97 RBI.
• Four players in the Phoenix's regular lineup are hitting over .300 and one over .400 in sophomore Kara Shutt at .443.
• Elon opens its games strong with 22 runs in the first inning and is 7-2 overall when scoring in the opening frame. The Phoenix also has a 6-1 record when scoring first overall.
• The Phoenix has outhit its opponents in nine of its 19 games and has an 8-1 ledger overall in those contests.
• Shutt hustled for her Colonial Athletic Association-best ninth double of the season in Elon's last contest against North Carolina on Wednesday, March 9. It was also the 23^rd career double for the Greensboro, N.C., native.
• With her three home runs this past weekend, junior Emily Roper moved into a tie with Jaimie Rao for seventh on the program's all-time career list with 18.
• The Phoenix went 3-1 in its first tournament of the year during the weekend of Feb. 27-28. Elon suffered a 4-1 defeat to North Carolina A&T before rebounding to sweep Fairleigh Dickinson in its remaining games of the tournament.
 
Scouting the Phoenix (8-11)
Team BA: .311 | Team ERA: 4.24 | Runs Scored: 106 | Runs Allowed: 97
Elon is mired in a current four-game losing streak after falling to in-state rival North Carolina on Wednesday, March 9, 12-6. The six runs are the most runs that Elon has scored against the Tar Heels at the fast pitch level, but it's the sixth straight loss to the Tar Heels in a series dating to 1998.
 
Although she didn't have an RBI against the Tar Heels, Shutt still leads the squad in multi-RBI games on the year with four and is tied for the team-lead in multi-hit games with seven after racking up three on Wednesday. Her .443 average is currently sixth in the CAA and she's third overall in total hits (27).
 
Roper's three home runs leads the team and is one of seven players with 10 or more RBI in the lineup with her team-best 14. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native was selected to the Spartan Invitational All-Tournament team after she batted .385 (5-for-13) with her three homers, seven RBI and a 1.077 slugging percentage.
 
The Phoenix pitching staff has a cumulative team ERA of 4.24 on the year, but at home the Phoenix has a 2.05 ERA. The Phoenix is 4-2 in those games while allowing a .253 average and has three members of the team with an ERA of 3.00 or lower.
 
Scouting the field
Central Connecticut State: Sitting at 3-6 on the season, the Blue Devils are coming off a 31-14 campaign in 2015 and a trip to the NCAA Tournament after capturing their second Northeast Conference Tournament championship. CCSU was selected to finish fourth in the NEC 2016 Preseason poll. Central returned 12 players from its 2015 NEC Championship team, including five seniors who were all consistent starters in the Blue Devils lineup, but lost a pair of All-Conference and CCSU standouts in Laura Messina and Kat Malcolm. On the year, the Blue Devils are hitting .232 with two players hitting better than .300 with Evie Rentzel pacing the squad with a .400 average. Breanne Gleason is in her first year as the full-time head coach after spending the 2014 and 2015 seasons as the acting head coach.
 
Niagara: Members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), Niagara heads into the weekend with a 2-6 ledger after going 1-4 at the Rebel Spring Games Tournament in Kissimmee, Fla., last weekend. Picked to finish 10^th in the 2016 MAAC Preseason Poll, the Purple Eagles are led by third-year head coach Larry Puzan and returned 14 players from its team a season ago. On the year, Niagara is batting .292 with four regulars hitting north of .300 with Bridget Hogan leading the team with a .400 average. Hogan is also one of four players who have made an appearance in the circle for the Purple Eagles who have a 5.32 ERA as a team.
 
Oakland: The Golden Grizzlies are 3-9 on the year, but have not played since competing at the Battle at the Beach Tournament at Florida Gulf Coast on Feb. 25-27. Members of the Horizon League and coming off a 27-24 record in 2015, the Golden Grizzlies were tabbed to defend its league title in the 2016 preseason poll. Oakland is hitting .208 as a program on the year as Brittney Miller has a team-best average at .480. She also has a team-high eight RBI and five doubles.
 
On Deck
Elon continues a nine-game homestand with a midweek matchup against Charlotte on Wednesday, March 16. That game begins at 5 p.m.