ELON, N.C. – In its final weekend before conference play, the Elon University softball team faces longtime rival UNCG in a three-game series starting on Saturday, March 19, in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. at Hunt Softball Park. The series concludes with a single-game on Sunday, March 20, at the UNCG Softball Stadium with the opening pitch set for 1 p.m.
 
FOLLOW THE PHOENIX
• Live stats will be available for this weekend 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 FloSoftball while Sunday's game will air on ESPN+.
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
• UNCG is Elon's most faced opponent in its program history with the two longtime Piedmont Triad rivals having met 91 times on the softball diamond in the maroon and gold's fastpitch era (since 1990).
•  The Spartans hold an all-time lead in the series of 50-40-1 and has won 11 out of the last 14 meetings between the two schools.
• Last season, both played five times with UNCG taking four of those contests. Elon's lone win was a 6-4 victory in Greensboro, N.C., with Alexa Nemeth earning a complete-game win in the circle with eight strikeouts.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• The Phoenix played a doubleheader at East Carolina on Tuesday, March 15. The two teams played a day earlier than expected due to rain forecasted in the Greenville, N.C., area on its original date of March 16.
• Elon fell in both games to the Pirates with ECU winning game one by a score of 8-0 in six innings before closing out the day with a 3-0 victory in the nightcap.
• The wins were the first for ECU over the Phoenix since 2014 and snapped Elon's three-game win streak versus the Pirates.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
• The Phoenix will be back on its home diamond of Hunt Softball Park this Saturday after playing its last five games from Elon for its longest road swing of the season so far.
• Elon is 13-5 at home this season after reaching the halfway mark of its total games it's scheduled to play at Hunt Softball Park in 2022.
• Offensively, Elon has outscored its opponents 73-55 this season at Hunt Softball Park. In the circle, the Phoenix pitching staff has a 2.55 ERA in its home contests including five shutouts.
 
AROUND THE HORN
• Elon is hitting .227 overall going into the weekend matchup with senior Rebecca Murray (.371) being the only player hitting .300 or better for the Phoenix.
• Murray leads the CAA in stolen bases (14) and ranks in the top-10 of the CAA in batting average, on-base percentage (.429), hits (24) and total bases (35).
• Elon is tied for the Colonial Athletic Association lead in triples with seven with five of those coming from Megan Grant, who was tied for the national lead in that category.
• The Phoenix ranks third overall in the CAA in runs scored (82), hits (128), RBI (68) and tied in home runs (11).
• Gabi Schaal has been the main run producer for Elon with her team-high 22 RBI, which is second in the CAA. She also ranks in the top six in the league in home runs with four.
• McKenzie Weber is second in the CAA in ERA at 1.53 in her 36.2 innings of action this season. As a team, the Phoenix has an ERA of 2.90, which would be its lowest since 2017.
• Taylor Cherry is third in the CAA in total strikeouts with 51 and leads the Phoenix in innings pitched with 46.1. Another rookie, Isley Duggins, is holding batters to a league-low .189 batting average and struck out a season-best seven batters versus Delaware State last Sunday.
• Kathy Bocock is in her 11th season at the helm of the Elon softball program. She has amassed 494 career victories with 257 of those coming at Elon.
 
SCOUTING UNCG
• UNCG is 16-8 on the year after an 8-1 win at Charlotte on Tuesday. It was the third straight victory for the Spartans and the fourth out of its last five games.
• The Spartans are hitting .277 as a team out of the batter's box with four regulars carrying .300 or better averages. Senior Delaney Cumbie has a team-best .393 average and is tied for the team-lead with five home runs. Freshman Grace Loftin has driven in a team-high 24 RBI while .317 on the year.
• Three players have mostly seen time in the circle for UNCG led by their ace Morgan Scott. The Irmo, S.C., native has a 3.15 ERA in her 97.2 innings of action with 94 strikeouts and a 10-4 ledger.
 
ON DECK
Elon hosts North Carolina Central next Tuesday, March 22 in a rescheduled game against the Eagles at 5:30 p.m. Both teams were originally slated to face each other on March 7, but that game was postponed until next Tuesday due to weather.