MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – Elon University baseball built an 8-0 lead and held College of Charleston scoreless through the final five innings to earn a 9-7 win on Saturday afternoon, May 22 at Patriots Point. With the series win, the Phoenix (21-20, 10-8 CAA) finishes second in the league's South Division and secure its spot in the 2021 CAA Championship Tournament, hosted by UNCW this Wednesday-Saturday, May 26-29 at Brooks Field in Wilmington, N.C.

"Another gritty performance by our guys," said head coach Mike Kennedy. "Had some good performances from Nick Cicci, Alex Iadisernia and Anthony Galason to name a few. These guys have a lot of fight in them and just battle for nine innings! Can't say enough about Ian Evans' outing. Threw up some big zeros for us. Nice to see Jared Wetherbee back out there and coming through for us in a tight situation. Huge couple of outs there in the eighth. Kyle Greenler filled up the zone and closed the door for us!"

ON THE MOUND
Ian Evans (1-1) picked up the win after holding the Cougars (24-23, 12-12) scoreless through four innings pitched. He scattered three hits and struck out three. Kyle Greenler earned the save after retiring the side in the bottom of the ninth. Ben Simon was roughed up for seven runs on eight hits and one walk. He added three strikeouts in a 3.1-inning start. Jared Wetherbee also came out of the pen, allowing one hit with one punch out in 0.2 innings of relief.

AT THE PLATE
Four batters collected multiple hits. Cole Reynolds finished 2-for-2, drew three walks and scored twice. Alex Iadisernia and Anthony Galason both hit 2-for-4. Iadisernia tripled, doubled, walked once, scored two runs and drove in another. Galason added a run and two RBIs to his totals. Nick Cicci homered in a a 2-for-5 day at the plate. The Charlotte, N.C. native drove in three runs and came around once.

THE RUNDOWN
Cicci led off the top of the second with a solo home run to left field. Reynolds followed with a single to third and a CofC throwing error allowed him to advance to second. Adam Spurlin then executed a sacrifice bunt before a Garrett Stonehouse hit back up the middle gave the Phoenix the 2-0 lead. Elon tacked on another three runs in the top of the third. Parker Haskin scored from first on an Iadisernia triple to right center. The Jackson, N.J. native then crossed the plate on a Galason hit through the left side. Reynolds walked to put runners on first and second, and Spurlin drove in Galason with a single to right field.

Elon continued its offense with another three-run top of the fourth. Jarrett Pico reached on a fielding error by the CofC shortstop and Justin Cassella was hit by a pitch before a Haskin sac bunt moved the pair into scoring position. After Iadisernia drew a walk to load the bases, Pico tagged up on a Galason sac fly to left. Cicci then drove in two more runs as his hit through the left side pushed Elon's lead to 8-0. The hosts erupted for seven runs on as many hits in the home half of the frame. A two-RBI triple to the gap in left got the Cougars on the board, and a single to short then made it 8-3. CofC then loaded the bases and Ari Sechopoulos connected on a 3-2 pitch for a grand slam to right.

The Cougars threatened again in the fifth inning. A baserunner stole third with two outs, but Evans got the batter to chase a 3-2 pitch to prevent Charleston from tying the game. CofC applied pressure in the eighth with one out and runners on the corners. However, Wetherbee induced a foul out to first and struck out the ensuing batter to maintain Elon's 8-7 lead. In the top of the ninth, Reynolds drew a leadoff walk, took second on a Spurlin sac bunt and reached third on a Stonehouse ground out to short. A passed ball then brought him home as the Phoenix added an insurance run. Greenler entered the game in the home half of the frame and retired the side in order to seal the victory.

NOTES
- Elon won both series against the Cougars 2-1 this season.
- The series win marks the fourth straight against Charleston.
- It was the second save of the season for Greenler.
- The 14 hits ties the team's season high.
- CofC still leads the all-time series, 35-29.
- Elon hit 14-for-37 (.378) in the game, to include 6-for-10 (.600) when leading off and 3-for-4 (.750) with runners on third and less than two outs.
- The Phoenix left 11 runners on base.

UP NEXT
Elon will head to Wilmington, N.C. to play in the 2021 CAA Championship. The CAA's selection committee will determine the two at-large selections and seeding later today.