ELON, N.C. – Elon University baseball and Wake Forest will meet for the second time this season as the Demon Deacons (15-22, 7-19 ACC) host the Phoenix (16-18, 8-7 CAA) for a 7 p.m. game this Saturday, May 8.

COVERAGE
Live stats will be available, but the game will not be streamed. Fans can tune into the Elon Sports Network from Learfield IMG College with the pregame show set to start 15 minutes before first pitch. The radio broadcast can be heard at elonphoenix.com/live and on the TuneIn app.

PITCHING MATCHUPS

Elon	Wake Forest
R-So. RH Brian Edgington (2-3, 3.67 ERA)	So. RH Ryan Cusick (2-3, 3.76 ERA)

THE SERIES
- Wake Forest holds a 62-38 lead the all-time series dating back to 1909.
- Saturday marks the second meeting of a home-and-home series this season.
- Elon was scheduled to host Wake Forest on March 9, but the game was postponed due to COVID-19 testing protocols withing the Deacs program.
- The Phoenix hosted the Deacs on March 23, falling 4-2 as a late comeback bid fell short.
- Wake Forest scored all four of its runs on three home runs. With runners in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh, Nick Cicci singled off the walk in left to cut the visitors' lead in half. Elon was able to put runners on first and second in the bottom of the ninth, but with two outs the Deacs retired Luke Coker on a ground out to second.
- Brian Edgington held the Deacs scoreless through 2.0 innings of relief. The redshirt sophomore did not give up a hit, issued one walk and struck out four. Spencer Bauer took the loss after giving up one run on two hits through 1.0 inning pitched.
- Cicci finished 1-for-1 in his lone plate appearance as a pinch hitter. Bryce Jeske also went 1-1 and scored a run in his only at bat. Griffin Arnone, Parker Haskin and Jarrett Pico all hit 1-for-2 with Arnone drawing one walk and Haskin scoring the team's other run.

SCOUTING THE DEMON DEACONS
- The Deacs dropped 2-of-3 games to NC State last weekend in Winston-Salem.
- After falling in the opener 13-7, Wake Forest evened the series with a 14-11 win in Game Two. However, the Pack defeated the hosts 15-8 in the finale to claim the series.
- Wake Forest was scheduled to host Liberty last Tuesday, but the game was postponed due to inclement weather in the area.
- Bobby Seymour leads Wake's bats with a .292 average. Following him are Brock Wilken (.290), MIchael Turconi (.288) and Lucas Costello (.284).
- Seymour leads the team with 10 doubles, 15 home runs and 46 RBIs. Wilken has scored 35 runs and is close behind Seymour with 13 long balls and 37 RBIs. Chris Lanzilli (.252) has also reached double-digit homers with 10.
- As a team, the Deacs are batting .249 with a .451 slugging percentage and a .350 on-base percentage.
- Sophomore right hander Ryan Cusick will get the start for the home team. The Sudbury, Mass. native is 2-3 with a 3.76 ERA across nine starts. He has given up 29 runs, 22 of them earned, on 49 hits and 23 walks with 83 strikeouts through 52.2 innings pitched.
- The Deacs own a combined 5.69 ERA and opponents are hitting .266 against them.
- Wake Forest ranks fourth in the nation in home runs per game (1.76), fifth in home runs (65) and 22nd in strikeouts per nine innings (10.6).
- Seymour is fifth in the country and second in the ACC in both home runs and home runs per game (0.41). Cusick is also 12th nationally with 14.18 strikeouts per nine innings.

ABOUT THE PHOENIX
- Alex Iadisernia leads the Phoenix in batting average (.371), on-base percentage (.458), hits (49), doubles (9), home runs (9), runs scored (30), RBIs (24) and walks (20).
- Also hitting .300 or better are Tyler Cranston (.342) and Justin Cassella (.329).
- The team has stolen 34 bases in 45 attempts. Galason leads the way with an 8-for-9 success rate, Cassella is 6-for-6 and Iadisernia 6-for-10.
- Elon is batting .259 with a .409 slugging percentage and a .350 on-base percentage.
- Edgington will get the nod for the Phoenix. The Hatboro, Pa. native is 2-3 with one complete game, two saves and a 3.67 ERA in 12 appearances and nine starts.
- Elon pitchers have a combined 4.79 ERA and opposing batters are hitting .265.
- Elon leads the CAA with 1.09 home runs per game and is second with 37 home runs and a 2.48 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
- Joe Savino is fifth in the nation with a 10.80 strikeout-to-walk ratio and is ninth with 1.02 walks allowed per nine innings. Joe Sprake leads the conference and is 37th in the nation with six victories.

ELON EARNS SERIES WIN OVER CHARLESTON
- Elon took 2-of-3 games from College of Charleston last weekend at Latham Park.
- The Phoenix opened the conference series with a 14-5 final last Friday. After a slow start, the team erupted for eight runs on five hits and an error in the bottom of the sixth. Brian Edgington improved to 2-3 as he struck out four in a 6.0-inning start. Garrett Stonehouse went 3-for-4, doubled, scored twice, drove in four runs and added a base on balls. Cole Reynolds hit 3-for-3 with two runs and two walks, and Cicci was 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI. Cassella, Parker Haskin and Adam Spurlin all homered.
- Saturday's game went to extra innings, and Cranston secured the win and series victory with a walk-off RBI single off the wall in left in the bottom of the 11th. The Phoenix used a six-run bottom of the eighth to rally from a 10-4 deficit.
- CofC took the series finale 6-3 on Sunday. It looked like the visitors would shut out the maroon and gold, but Elon manufactured three runs on as many hits in the bottom of the eighth.
- Elon and CofC are tied atop the CAA South Division standings.
- Elon went 7-2 in home conference games this season.
- The Phoenix and Cougars will meet again for three games in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. on May 20-22 to conclude the regular season.

IT'S A FAMILY AFFAIR
- In last Friday's win over the Cougars, Haskin hit his first career home run, a grand slam that extended Elon's lead, 9-3.
- His older brother Hudson, who played at Tulane, hit a grand slam for his first collegiate hit in a 16-6 win over George Washington on Feb. 17, 2019.

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY
- Elon was scheduled to play at NC State this past Tuesday, but the forecast would not cooperate as inclement weather forced the game to be canceled.
- Tuesday would have marked the first meeting between the programs since a home-and-home series during the 2019 season.

UP NEXT
Elon rounds out its home schedule next Thursday-Saturday, May 13-15 with three games against Georgia Southern.