ELON, N.C. – The Elon University softball team is set to open Colonial Athletic Association play this weekend, March 27-28, as the Phoenix welcomes James Madison to Hunt Softball Park for a three-game set. The series is slated to begin on Saturday at noon with a doubleheader before concluding on Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
Follow the Phoenix
• Live stats will be available for the series by going to the team's schedule page at elonphoenix.com.
• Updates will also be posted on Twitter at the team's account @ElonSoftball.
• Saturday's doubleheader will be streamed on the Elon Phoenix's YouTube channel while Sunday's matchup will be broadcasted on FloSoftball via a paid subscription.
 
Series Breakdown
• The Phoenix has met the Dukes on the softball diamond 25 times going into this weekend's series with the last 17 matchups coming as league opponents.
• JMU holds an 18-7 advantage all-time over the Phoenix in the series and has won the past three contests and 11 out of the previous 12.
• The last time the two teams met came in 2019 in the championship game of the CAA Tournament in Harrisonburg, Va. The Dukes posted a 12-0 shutout over the Phoenix as JMU claimed the league championship. Elon did defeat the Dukes earlier that season, 5-3, for its first-ever win at JMU, who was ranked No. 20 at the time.
• The Phoenix's last win over JMU in Elon came in the 2016 season with the maroon and gold earning a 5-4 triumph over the then sixth-ranked Dukes in 14 innings.
 
Last Time Out
• Elon faced UNCG in a four-game series last weekend, March 20-21. The Spartans took three out of the four contests including a doubleheader sweep of the Phoenix last Sunday at Hunt Softball Park.
• The Phoenix fell to the Spartans in the opener of the series, 11-3, last Saturday in Greensboro, N.C., but Elon rebounded to take the second game, 6-4. Elon starter Alexa Nemeth struck out eight batters in the circle while the Phoenix took advantage of some UNCG errors.
• UNCG swept the Phoenix in a doubleheader last Sunday to close out the series with a 15-7 victory in the opening game before closing out the weekend with a 9-6 win in the nightcap. Elon made late-inning rallies in both games, but fell to 1-5 on the season against the Spartans.
 
Frazier Named CAA Rookie of the Week
• Freshman Mekayla Frazier was honored as the CAA's Rookie of the Week on Tuesday, March 23. Frazier became the second Elon first-year player to receive the weekly honor this season along with Grace Kiser, who was recognized on Feb. 23.
• Frazier led the Phoenix at the plate with a .500 batting average, going 8-for-16 in Elon's five games last week. The Miami, Fla., native also drove in six RBI while scoring six runs herself. She also added a home run, a double and a triple to her stat line.
• She had multi-hit efforts in three of the Phoenix's five games last week including having a season-best three hits with three RBI and a triple versus UNCG in Elon's series finale against the Spartans on Sunday, March 21. She also had a double and was a home run shy of the cycle in that game.
 
Quick Hits
• Frazier paces the Phoenix's offense with her team-best .405 average and also leads the CAA in triples with two. She also sits in the top-10 of the league in slugging percentage (.838) and runs scored (12).
• Rebecca Murray leads Elon with 23 total hits, which is second in the CAA. The junior outfielder is second on the team with her .397 batting average and is one of five players with 10 or more RBI for the squad.
• Gabi Schaal is also quietly having a fantastic freshman campaign for the Phoenix. The Lakeland, Fla., native leads the Phoenix with 13 RBI and is third on the team with a .348 average. Kiser is the team's home run leader with four, tied for second in the conference.
• In the circle, Kenna Quinn has seen the most time for the Phoenix in the circle as her 53.0 innings of action leads the CAA. The Boiling Springs, S.C., native has a 3.43 ERA and a 5-6 ledger so far this season. She also leads the team with 25 strikeouts.
 
Scouting James Madison
• The Dukes go into the weekend with an unblemished 9-0 record so far in 2021 after sweeping East Carolina last weekend at home. JMU was selected as the 2021 CAA Preseason Favorite in the South Division and is receiving votes in the latest USA Today/NFCA DI Top 25 Poll.
• James Madison is batting .341 as a team, which is tied for second in the CAA. Five members of JMU's regular lineup are hitting .300 or better with Logan Newton's .500 average leading the way. Newton is also the team's leader in RBI with 12 while Kate Gordon has four home runs.
• The Dukes have relied on a trio of arms this season in Alissa Humphrey, Alexis Bermudez and Odicci Alexander. The group has combined for a cumulative team ERA of 1.33 while striking out 77 batters. Bermudez was recently named the CAA's Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday while Humphrey earned that honor the previous week.
 
On Deck
The Phoenix returns to Hunt Softball Park next weekend, April 3-4, hosting UNCW for its second CAA series.