PHILADELPHIA – Elon University softball improved to 9-0 all-time against Drexel on Sunday in polishing off the sweep of the Dragons with a 13-5 win Sunday, April 9, at Drexel Softball Park. The Phoenix scored in six of the seven innings played Sunday to finish a series it scored 29 runs in 19 innings.
 
The Phoenix, now 26-13 on the season, have now swept each series against the Dragons to date since joining the CAA. The win also pushed Elon over .500 in CAA play, now at 5-4 on the young conference season. Drexel fell to 9-17 on the year and 1-8 in conference action. Elon has now won six games in a row going back to last weekend's win over UNCW in the series finale.
 
The Rundown
After putting up 13 runs in Game 2 on Saturday, the Phoenix picked up right where it left off on Sunday when Carey Million went deep with a two-run shot to center field, hitting her second home run in as many games. After the homer, Elon kept the foot on the gas pedal with Hannah Olson and Kristin Hoover hitting back-to-back doubles to add a third run in the top of the first.
 
In the second, Erica Serafini tripled to right field to bring Jenna Reilly in after she reached on an error to start off the frame. Callie Horn then laid down a bunt to bring Serafini in to make it 5-0 after an inning and a half.
 
Four more runs came around to score in the third – all coming with two outs – with Reilly singling home Olson and Serafini coming up with her second big hit of the day, a double that brought both Reilly and Hoover home after Hoover had doubled earlier in the inning.
 
Emily Roper got in the act in the fourth with an RBI single to left with two runners on, bringing home Kara Shutt on the base knock. In the bottom half of the frame, Drexel broke out with five runs in the inning. The big blow came off the bat of Hannah Walker, who hit a three-run homer to cut Elon's lead in half at 10-5 through four.
 
After a quiet fifth inning, the Phoenix got a run back with Shutt scoring again after she doubled to start the inning and came around to score on a fielder's choice and an error. In the seventh, Shutt scored her fourth run when she drilled her second home run in as many days, bringing in Horn with the shot to center.
 
In the Circle
Kiandra Mitchum struck out 11 batters for a second-straight game and improved to 14-7 with the victory. She hurled 6.2 innings and gave up just four hits and two walks while only being charged with one run in the fourth. To start the fourth, Kenna Quinn came on in relief of Mitchum with four of the five batters she faced reaching. Though Mitchum gave up the homer to Walker after coming back into the circle, Quinn was tagged for four runs – three earned – after the inning started with a Phoenix error.
 
At the Plate
Shutt had a stellar 4-for-5 afternoon with a double, a homer, four runs scored and two RBIs. Horn, Olson, Hoover and Serafini each also had two hits on the day. Serafini finished with three RBIs and two runs scored while Horn and Million each had two RBIs and a run scored.
 
Up Next
On Wednesday night, April 12, Elon will look to extend its winning streak to seven in a row when it welcomes in-state ACC rival NC State to Hunt Softball Park. First pitch between the Phoenix and Wolfpack is set for 6 p.m.