ELON, N.C. – The Elon University softball team returns to Hunt Softball Park to host intrastate opponent North Carolina in a midweek matchup on Wednesday, Feb. 16. The Phoenix and the Tar Heels will throw the first pitch at 4:30 p.m.
 
Follow the Phoenix
• Live stats will be available for the game by going to the team's schedule page at elonphoenix.com.
• Updates will also be posted on Twitter at the team's account @ElonSoftball.
• Wednesday's game will stream live on FloSoftball via a paid subscription.
 
Series Breakdown
• Wednesday will be the 35^th all-time meeting between the two programs during Elon's fastpitch history (since 1990).
• The Tar Heels hold a 29-4-1 advantage over the maroon and gold in the series. UNC won the most recent result this past season, 7-5, in Chapel Hill.
• Elon however has won three of the last four outings versus North Carolina including a 2-1 result in 2018 the last time the programs played at Hunt Softball Park.
 
Last Time Out
• Elon hosted its first tournament of the season, the Elon Softball Classic, on Feb. 11-13, to open the 2022 season this past weekend.
• The Phoenix faced IUPUI and Saint Francis in the tournament and posted a 3-0 ledger against the Jaguars and the Red Flash.
• Elon defeated IUPUI 5-3 on its opening day last Friday, Feb. 11, and earned a 4-2 win over the Jaguars in a rematch on Saturday.
• The Phoenix closed out the tournament with a 3-2 victory over Saint Francis on Saturday. Elon rallied from a 1-0 deficit with a three-run bottom of the fifth to earn the win over a Red Flash team that went 40-10 last season and earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
 
First Year Contribution
• Freshmen Taylor Cherry, Isley Duggins and Kaitlyn Wells contributed to the Phoenix's 3-0 weekend at its home tournament.
• Cherry started two of the three games for the Phoenix in the circle and went 1-0 with a 2.17 ERA while striking out 15 batters.
• Wells started all three games in the outfield and drove in three runs in the Phoenix's 5-3 win over IUPUI in the season opener.
• Duggins earned the win in relief versus IUPUI on Opening Day, pitching 4.1 scoreless innings with six strikeouts.
 
Around the Horn
• Elon is off to its first 3-0 start since 2019 and will look to match the 4-0 start from that campaign on Wednesday.
• The Phoenix surpassed the 1,000 wins mark as a program versus IUPUI on Saturday. Elon now has 1,001 victories since its inception in 1977.
• Rebecca Murray currently leads the Phoenix and the Colonial Athletic Association with her .571 average after going 4-for-7 last weekend and recording a hit in every game. She is also set to appear and start her 119^th career game for the Phoenix on Wednesday.
• North Carolina will be the first of three opponents from the ACC that Elon will face on its 2022 schedule along with Duke (Feb. 23) and NC State (March 2). Since taking over the helm of the softball program in 2012, Elon head coach Kathy Bocock is 12-29 versus ACC schools.
• Elon currently leads the CAA with its 1.00 ERA and is second in strikeouts with 24. Individually, Cherry is second in the league with 15 strikeouts while Duggins is also in the top-10 of the CAA in fanned batters.
• After the three wins over the weekend, Bocock is now sitting on 484 career victories as a head coach with 236 of those coming at Elon.
 
Scouting North Carolina
• The Tar Heels come into Wednesday's matchup with a 4-0 record after playing at the Carolina Classic last weekend in Columbia, S.C. North Carolina swept the field of George Washington, Lipscomb, Virginia and host South Carolina.
• UNC is hitting .302 on the young season with six batters among its regulars hitting north of .300. Senior Taylor Greens holds a team-high .455 average with six RBI while former James Madison standout Sara Jubas is next with a .385 average.
• Three players saw time toeing the rubber from last weekend with Hannah George and Talia Hannappel doing the bulk of the work in the circle. George won both of her starts at the Carolina Classic and has a 0.00 ERA in 12.1 innings while Hannappel added a win and a save in her 10.0 innings of work and a 3.50 ERA.
 
On Deck
Elon hosts its second tournament of the year, the Phoenix Invitational, this weekend, Feb. 18-20. The maroon and gold welcomes the field of Providence, UMass-Lowell and Morgan State to Hunt Softball Park.