ELON, N.C. – An Anthony Galason two-run walkoff home run gave the Elon University baseball team a 7-6 comeback victory in Game One, but VCU responded with a 4-3 final in Game Two as the teams split the doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 27 at Latham Park.

"I thought today there were two evenly matched ball clubs," said head coach Mike Kennedy. "We were able to come up with the big hit in game one late and they were able to take advantage of a few two-out walks and get a couple big hits in game two. Tomorrow will be very similar and for us to come out on top we are going to need to produce with runners on base. Left a few to many opportunities out there today."

ON THE MOUND
Joe Sprake (1-0) earned the win in Game One. Starter Jared Wetherbee held the Rams (1-4) to two runs on four hits. He did not issue a walk and struck out eight in 5.0 innings. Tristan Corcoran surrendered one run on two hits and added three strikeouts in 2.0 innings of relief. Trevor Kirk also tossed 1.0 inning out of the pen.

Kyle Greenler (0-3) was handed the loss in Game Two after giving up two runs on two walks. Ben Simon got the start, tallying seven strikeouts through 6.2 innings. He allowed two runs on three hits and three walks. Joe Savino threw 1.1 innings with one strike out and three hits, and Ben Sieracki also made an appearance with 1.0 inning of relief.
 
AT THE PLATE
Galason finished 2-for-4 at the plate in the first game, adding the long ball with two RBIs and the run scored to his totals. Nick Cicci went 2-for-2 and drove in a run as a pinch hitter, and Willie Havens turned in a solo home run with a 1-for-3 outing. Cole Reynolds and Carlos Marte also had 1-for-3 efforts at the plate, Garrett Stonehouse and Alex Iadisernia batted 1-for-4, and Jarrett Pico had the team's other hit as he ended up 1-for-5.

Stonehouse led the maroon and gold with a 2-for-4 performance in Game Two. Galason also finished with multiple hits at 2-for-5. Pico and Marte both hit 1-for-3, with Pico driving in two runs and Marte one. Matt Oldham batted 1-for-4 with a run and Reynolds went 1-for-5 to round out Elon's hits.

THE RUNDOWN
Elon opened the scoring in Game One in the third as Pico led off with a single to right and took second on a wild pitch. After Iadisernia drew a walk, Galason laid down the sacrifice bunt to move the pair up before Pico tagged up on a Reynolds sac fly to center. VCU then knotted the game at 1-1 in the top of the fourth. With the bases loaded, Elon elected to get the force out at second, but a runner came home on the play. The visitors then took the lead 2-1 in the fifth on an RBI groundout back to the pitcher and added another tally in the top of the sixth as Marte and Sponseller could not get to a shallow fly to left.

The Phoenix pulled even at 3-3 with two runs in the home half of the sixth. With runners on first and second, Cicci singled to center to plate one and Marte followed with a single through the right side to score another. VCU jumped ahead again 6-3 with a three-spot in the eighth. A two-out double to the gap in left brought in two, and another hit to left center scored a third run. Havens answered with a leadoff solo shot to right in the bottom of the eighth. Stonehouse then reached on a hit back up the middle, moved to third on a couple of wild pitches, and crossed the final 90 feet on a passed ball to cut the deficit to 6-5. In the ninth, Iadiserni reached on a throwing error by the Rams second baseman before Galason drilled the first pitch he saw to clinch the victory.

— Elon Baseball (@ElonBaseball) February 28, 2021

Stonehouse got the Phoenix started in the second game with a leadoff hit to center to start the bottom of the second. Oldham then reached on a fielder's choice as Stonehouse was safe at second thanks to a VCU error by the shortstop covering. Later, a Marte single down the right field line brought in Stonehouse and Oldham them scored from third on a Pico sac fly to left. The maroon and gold added an insurance run in the fourth for the 3-0 lead. With two outs and runners on first and second, Pico earned the RBI withe a single to left.

VCU responded with a four-run top of the seventh. After the leadoff man struck out, a walk and a groundout to second put a runner in scoring position for the visitors. The next Rams batter found a hole in the left side of the Elon defense for VCU's first run of the game. A failed pickoff attempt then allowed the runner to get to third before two more walks ran the bags full. The Rams then singled up the middle to tie the game at 3-3 and then took the lead on an RBI double to left. VCU then retired the Phoenix in order in the eighth and ninth innings.

NOTES
- Elon now leads the series 3-2.
- This marks the second weekend in a row that a series will come down to the final game.
- Game One was the first multi-home run game for the Phoenix since J.P. Sponseller and Tyler Cranston went deep in a 10-0 series-opening win over UMass Lowell on Feb. 21, 2020. Both home runs marked career firsts for the pair in that win over the River Hawks.
- Simon had a perfect top of the fifth as he fanned a pair of Rams and sent the next batter to the dugout on a called third strike.
 
UP NEXT
Elon and VCU will return for a 1 p.m. rubber match tomorrow, Feb. 28 at Latham Park.