ELON, N.C. – The Elon University softball team travels to Delaware for its second Colonial Athletic Association series of the season this weekend, April 2-3. The Phoenix and the Blue Hens begin the three-game set with a doubleheader on Saturday at noon before closing out the weekend with a single-game at 1 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.
• The series will be streamed on FloSoftball via a paid subscription.
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
• Delaware leads the all-time series versus Elon at 11-8 with this weekend being the first regular-season meeting between the two schools since 2019.
• The Blue Hens eliminated the Phoenix at the CAA Tournament last season in the most recent contest between the two teams. Elon lost a one-run lead in the seventh inning as Delaware advanced on the 7-5 victory.
• The Phoenix has won two out of the last three in the series, but its only win at Delaware came way back in 2001.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• Elon opened CAA play last weekend hosting Hofstra at Hunt Softball Park. The Pride won the first two games of the series by sweeping the Phoenix in its doubleheader last Saturday before Elon rebounded with an 8-2 win in the finale.
• In Elon's win, freshman Chloe Hatzopoulos was 2-for-3 at the plate with a home run, two RBI and three runs scored. Gabi Schaal went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a stolen base while Bella Devesa also had a multi-hit game as the junior went 2-for-4.
• The Phoenix batted .293 overall in the series against the Pride with four players hitting .400 or better led by Rebecca Murray's .455 average (5-for-13). Schaal and Carley Davis both hit .400 and drove in four RBI each.
 
SEVEN DEEP IN THE CIRCLE
• The Phoenix has utilized a seven-person pitching staff this season posting solid results in the process with six shutouts.
• The staff holds a 3.08 ERA this season, which would be the program's best mark since 2017 when it posted a 2.86 cumulative ERA.
• As mentioned earlier, the Phoenix has posted six shutouts this season highlighted by freshman Taylor Cherry's perfect game versus East Carolina on March 6. Redshirt senior McKenzie Weber has two shutouts including one versus Big Ten opponent Michigan State on March 4.
• Elon has struck out 148 batters this season in its 31 games, already surpassing its 105 fanned batters from all of last season. Cherry leads the Phoenix with 58 strikeouts in her 54.2 innings.
• Weber ranks third in the CAA in ERA at 1.61 and seventh in the league in lowest opposing batting average at .231. Freshman Isley Duggins leads the CAA in the lowest opposing batting average at .180.
 
AROUND THE HORN
• Since joining the CAA in 2015, Elon is 60-60 during league play with four appearances to the CAA Softball Championships. This season, the Phoenix tabbed to finish third in the 2022 CAA Preseason Poll behind James Madison and Delaware.
• Elon is hitting .242 overall going into the weekend matchup with Murray (.355) and Schaal (.319) being the only players hitting better than .300 in the Phoenix's regular lineup.
• Murray leads the CAA in stolen bases with 16 this season on 16 attempts. As a team, Elon has swiped 40 bags this year its highest total since 2015.
• Murray also ranks in the top-10 of the CAA in hits (33), on-base percentage (.429), doubles (seven) and total bases (51).
• Schaal has come on late at the plate in her last seven games. The Lakeland, Fla., native is hitting .481 (13-for-27) with four home runs, three doubles and 12 RBI in that stretch. She also has a 1.037 slugging percentage while recording multi-hit efforts in four out of the seven contests.
• The Phoenix leads the league in walks (99), ranks third in hits (184) and fourth in doubles (26) and home runs (19).
• Kathy Bocock is in her 11th season at the helm of the Elon softball program. She has amassed 498 career victories with 261 of those coming at Elon.
 
SCOUTING DELAWARE
• The Blue Hens hold a 17-11 record with a 1-2 ledger in the CAA after its league-opening visit to UNCW last weekend. Delaware faced Monmouth in a midweek contest on Wednesday, falling by a score of 6-4 in its most recent game.
• Delaware is hitting .270 overall as a team, which is fourth in the CAA. Four players in its lineup are hitting .300 or better headlined by Hanna Garber's .365 average and 35 hits, which is second in the CAA. Garber is second on the team in home runs with six behind Brooke Glanden's seven. Gladen has driven in a team-best 21 RBI.
• In the circle, Delaware has a 3.00 team ERA with three players seeing the most time toeing the rubber. Emily Winburn has pitched a team-high 78.2 innings this year and has gone 7-6 with a 2.85 ERA with 72 strikeouts. Freshman Graceyn Frost has a team-low 2.56 ERA in her 68.1 innings of action and has struck out 63 batters with an 8-3 record.
 
ON DECK
The Phoenix hosts North Carolina A&T in its final nonconference game of the season next Wednesday, April 6. That contest is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. start.