ELON, N.C. – The Elon University softball team returns to Colonial Athletic Association play this weekend, hosting College of Charleston in a three-game series beginning on Saturday, April 9, with a doubleheader at 12 p.m. The Phoenix (18-17, 1-5 CAA) and the Cougars (6-25, 1-4 CAA) conclude the series on Sunday, April 10, in the series finale at 1 p.m. at Hunt Softball Park.
 
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 game will be streamed on FloSoftball via a paid subscription.
 
WEEKEND PROMOTIONS
• Saturday's doubleheader is highlighted by a Phoenix headband giveaway to fans.
• On Sunday, the program is hosting its Strikeout Cancer event and is encouraging all fans to wear pink in attendance. The team will also host a variety of events during the game while helping share cancer awareness.
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
• College of Charleston holds a slim 32-29 advantage over Elon in the all-time series between the two schools dating back to 1999. The Phoenix however has won seven straight in the matchup and eight of the last nine over the Cougars.
• Last season, the maroon and gold swept CofC in both of its three-game sets, outscoring the Cougars 38-9 in the six games.
• The Phoenix swept the Cougars in a doubleheader during last year's Senior Day with Elon taking game one, 4-0, before closing out the day with a 3-1 victory in the nightcap.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• Elon came away with a 3-2 victory over its longtime I-40 rival North Carolina A&T on Wednesday, April 6, closing out its nonconference schedule.
• Megan Grant helped the maroon and gold overcome a 2-0 deficit with her three-RBI double in the bottom of the fifth inning. Grant's three RBI tied a season-best for the junior.
• Alexa Nemeth earned the win in relief for the Phoenix, pitching 3.2 scoreless innings. Taylor Cherry came on for the save, the first of the season for the Phoenix.
• The win was the 499^th career victory for Elon head coach Kathy Bocock and the 262^nd at Elon, moving her just six away from tying her for the second-most wins in school history with Sue Leonard (1990-98).
 
SHE'S A RUNNER, SHE'S A TRACK STAR
• Rebecca Murray currently leads the CAA in stolen bases at 19, three more than the next closest base-stealer. Her 19 swiped bags are the highest total so far in a single season since 2014 and she is just three shy of moving into the program's top-10 list in career stolen bases as she has 34 going into this weekend.
 
AROUND THE HORN
• Elon is hitting .241 overall going into the contest on Wednesday with Murray (.368) being the only player hitting better than .300 in the Phoenix's regular lineup.
• In the series last weekend at Delaware, Murray batted .600 (6-for-10) while scoring four runs with a pair of doubles. She also had two multi-hit games versus the Blue Hens in the three-game set increasing her team-lead total to 11 on the year.
• Murray also ranks in the top-10 of the CAA in batting average, stolen bases, hits (39), on-base percentage (.437), doubles (nine) and total bases (59).
• Gabi Schaal leads the CAA in RBI with 35 and is third overall in home runs with eight as Elon's main run producer this season. The Lakeland, Fla., native has 11 multi-RBI contests this year and is currently second on the team with her .292 batting average.
• The Phoenix ranks in the top-four of the CAA in hits (209), doubles (36), triples (seven), home runs (19), walks (104) and total bases (316).
• Elon's pitching staff has a 3.31 team ERA while compiling 165 strikeouts and an opposing batting average of .259, which ranks second in the CAA. The Phoenix's strikeout total is the team's highest since 2018 while its six shutouts are the most since 2018 as well.
 
SCOUTING COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
• The Cougars last played at Hofstra last Saturday in a doubleheader, falling to the Pride in both contests. The series finale was canceled due to rain and CofC's early-week game at Coastal Carolina was also canceled.
• As a team, CofC is hitting .228 with two regulars in the lineup batting .300 or better in Jenna Carter and Jenna Helberg. Carter has a team-best .385 average and 17 walks while Helberg is hitting .348 with a team-high in hits (31), doubles (10), homers (five) and RBI (19).
• In the circle, the Cougars have posted a 3.48 team ERA with four arms seeing the most time toeing the rubber. Junior Carli McCants has pitched a team-best 71.1 innings and has an ERA of 2.75 with a 3-5 record and 55 strikeouts. Payton Lemire has a team-low ERA of 2.61 in her 51.0 innings of action.
 
ON DECK
The Phoenix is back at Hunt Softball Park next weekend, hosting Drexel for its third CAA series on its home diamond this season on April 16-17.