Elon, N.C. – Sophomore pitcher Shea Sprague threw six shutout innings and redshirt junior transfer Tanner Holliman homered in his first at-bat in a Phoenix uniform as Elon (1-0) baseball opened the 2023 season with a 2-0 win over Kentucky (0-1) Friday afternoon at Latham Park.
 
Sprague, Liam Dabagian and Ben Simon combined to allow just four hits in nine innings for the program's first opening day shutout in its NCAA Division I history. Elon last shut out an opponent in its season opener on Feb. 24, 1992 at North Carolina A&T.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Elon put pressure on Kentucky starter Logan Martin right away, posting back-to-back first inning singles, but the Phoenix would not get on the scoreboard until the second.
• Tanner Holliman homered to left center to lead off the second to put Elon ahead 1-0. It was his first at-bat for Elon after transferring from Northern Oklahoma College, where he hit .319 with 14 homers in 2022.
• In the bottom of the third, Charlie Granatell had a one-out infield single that deflected off the pitcher's glove and Luke Stephenson was hit by pitch to put Granatell in scoring position. Cole Reynolds singled through the left side and Granatell beat the throw home for a 2-0 Elon lead.
• The Elon pitching staff was rarely threatened the rest of the way. The Phoenix middle infield turned its second double play of the game in the fourth and Shea Sprague worked around a leadoff single in the fifth.
• In the seventh, Sprague walked the leadoff batter and Elon went to Liam Dabagian in the bullpen. He got three straight ground outs to end the threat.
• In the eighth, Kentucky got a runner in scoring position after a throwing error but Dabagian got out of the jam.
• In the ninth, Ben Simon closed the door with three strikeouts in a row for his third career save.

 
STATS AND NOTES

• Sophomore Kenny Mallory Jr., a transfer from Vanderbilt, went 2-for-4 in his first game with Elon.
• Charlie Granatell was also 2-for-4 with a run and a strikeout.
• Elon was 2-for-2 on stolen base attempts as Tanner Holliman and Parker Haskin were both successful on steal attempts.
• Shea Sprague threw just 79 pitches over 6.0 innings, allowing four hits and two walks, striking out three and hitting a batter. He also picked off two batters.
• Liam Dabagian pitched 2.0 scoreless innings and Ben Simon was perfect in the ninth, striking out all three batters he faced.
• The game took just 2:12 to complete.
• The victory was Elon's first over a school from a Power Five conference since defeating Wake Forest 5-2 on May 8, 2021.
• The contest was Elon's first against an SEC school since facing Kentucky in 2013. The win snapped a five-game losing streak to SEC opponents since taking 2-of-3 games at Auburn to open the 2009 season. That Elon team finished the year ranked No. 24 by Baseball America.
• Elon's last shutout against a team from a Power Five conference came in a 5-0 win at Wake Forest on April 27, 2011. The program's last shutout victory over a current SEC team came in a 6-0 victory over South Carolina on May 1, 1916.

 
UP NEXT

• Elon looks to clinch the series victory against Kentucky Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and will host the Wildcats again Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
• Following the weekend, Elon will play at Gardner-Webb Tuesday before hosting Akron in a three-game set next weekend.