ELON, N.C. – The Elon University softball team is set to open play at the 2021 Colonial Athletic Association Softball Championships on Wednesday, May 12, as the third-seeded Phoenix faces second-seeded Drexel in the opening round at 2 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Park on the campus of James Madison University.
 
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.
• The tournament will be streamed on FloSoftball via a paid subscription.
 
Series Breakdown
• This is the first meeting between both teams since squaring off in the semifinals of the CAA Tournament in 2019. The Phoenix took that contest, 7-3, to advance to its first-ever league championship game.
• Elon holds a 15-1 all-time advantage over Drexel with the Dragons' lone victory coming in 2019 in Philadelphia. The Phoenix had won the first 12 games of the series since both teams became league opponents in 2015.
 
Last Time Out
• Elon was idle last week, but closed out its regular season at intrastate foe UNCW on May 1-2. The Phoenix earned a split in its doubleheader to open the series on Saturday, May 1, but ultimately fell to the Seahawks in the rubber match on Sunday, 7-5.
• The Phoenix's lone win in the series, a 6-2 triumph in the second game of its twin bill last Saturday, helped the maroon and gold clinch a spot for the CAA championships.
 
Phoenix Quintet Earn All-CAA Postseason Honors
• The Phoenix had five players earn All-CAA honors on Tuesday, May 11, when the league office announced its postseason honors.
• Senior Ally Repko headlined the Phoenix honorees with her first team selection while three other players – Megan Grant, Rebecca Murray and Alexa Nemeth – all received second team laurels. Freshman Gabi Schaal rounded out Elon's All-CAA performers as she was placed on the league's All-Rookie team.
 
Quick Hits
• Elon ended the regular season with a record of 17-19 overall and a 10-8 ledger in the CAA South Division, finishing second to James Madison. The Dukes earned the tournament's No. 1 seed after going 17-1 in the league with the lone blemish coming against Elon on March 27.
• This is the Phoenix's fourth time at the CAA Championships since joining the league in 2015. Elon has an overall record of 3-6 at the annual tournament and reached the CAA championship game for the first time in its last visit in 2019.
• As a team, the Phoenix is hitting .258 on the season and is in the top-five of the CAA in runs scored (173), RBI (152), home runs (33) and walks (142).
• Elon currently has three players hitting better than .300 in its lineup in Murray (.354), Repko (.333) and Grant (.307). During CAA play, both Grant (.419) and Repko (.405) are hitting better than .400 with Grant carrying a current nine-game hit streak into Wednesday.
• Repko moved into third all-time in program history in career home runs against the Seahawks, belting her 27^th career home run on May 1. She also currently sits on a seven-game hit streak.
• In the circle, Elon holds a 4.08 team ERA, which is fourth overall in the CAA. Nemeth and Kenna Quinn have led the Phoenix in the circle this season with Quinn's 3.14 ERA leading the team and ranking in the top-10 in the league.
 
Scouting Drexel
• Drexel is 28-10 and 13-5 in conference play after winning the North Division and earning the No. 2 overall seed for the tournament. Its .737 winning percentage is the highest in program history.
• The Dragons' Linda Rush was named the CAA Player of the Year on Tuesday. Rush leads the team in multiple categories, including batting average (.482), runs scored (49), slugging percentage (.964), on-base percentage (.592) and home runs (14). Behind Rush, the Dragons have multiple threats. Kristi DiMeo leads the team in RBIs (52) and is tied with the most doubles on the team with 10.
• Brooklyn Daly will be entering the tournament as one of the conference's best pitchers. The senior is 9-1 through 16 appearances. Her 2.52 ERA is currently ranked fourth in the CAA.
 
On Deck
Depending on the result of tomorrow's game, the winner will move on to the semifinal round on Thursday, May 13. The loser will enter the loser's bracket and play on Wednesday at 8 p.m.