ELON, N.C. – The Elon University softball team begins a six-game stretch on the road this Wednesday, Feb. 22, as the Phoenix (4-5) heads to Raleigh for a midweek matchup versus NC State (2-7). Opening pitch of the contest is set for 5 p.m. at Dail Softball Stadium.
 
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 ACCNX on Watch ESPN or the ESPN app.
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
• NC State owns a 14-9 ledger against Elon in a series dating back to 2004, including a 7-5 edge in Raleigh.
• The Wolfpack has won the past two contests and four out of the past five meetings. Last season, NC State came away with a 6-4 win at Hunt Softball Park, its first win at Elon since 2017.
• The last win of the series for the Phoenix came on April 17, 2019, at Hunt Softball Park. Elon came away with a 5-4 result against its instate rival.
• Elon's last win in Raleigh against the Wolfpack came on April 6, 2016, with the Phoenix taking the 4-2 win. It was also the last time the Phoenix won back-to-back games versus NC State.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• Elon went 3-1 last weekend at its second home tournament of the year, the Phoenix Invitational on Feb. 17-19. The Phoenix hosted the field of Fordham, Michigan State, Saint Francis (Pa.) and James Madison at Hunt Softball Park.
• The Phoenix opened the tournament with a 3-1 win over Fordham last Friday before being shutout by Michigan State, 7-0, in its second game of the day. Elon recovered with a 4-3 win over Saint Francis on Saturday before wrapping up the weekend with an 8-2 victory over former Colonial Athletic Association foe James Madison on Sunday.
• Three players for the Phoenix batted over .300 during the tournament in Claudia Penny (.364), Megan Grant (.333) and Allee Seering (.333).
 
BO'S ON TOP
• Elon head coach Kathy Bocock became the program's all-time wins leader with the Phoenix's 8-2 win on Sunday versus James Madison. The victory was the 278^th for Bocock in her 12 seasons at Elon, surpassing Patti Raduenz's mark of 277 that was set from 2001-11.
 
PENNY NAMED CAA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Penny was named the CAA Player of the Week on Tuesday, Feb. 21. It was the first weekly accolade this season for the Phoenix and the first for Penny in her career.
• The Apex, N.C., native batted .333 (5-for-15) in the Phoenix's five games, registering a hit in four of those contests. She also drove in five RBI and had three doubles with a .412 on-base percentage.
• Penny was 2-for-3 with two doubles and three RBI in Elon's 4-3 over Saint Francis (Pa.) on Saturday. She later added an RBI double and a run scored versus the Dukes on Sunday.
 
SCOUTING ELON
• Elon is 4-5 on the season after starting the season with a 1-4 ledger. As a team, the Phoenix is hitting .245 on the season with 36 runs scored, four home runs and 29 RBI.
• The Phoenix currently leads the CAA in total hits (59), home runs (four), doubles (12), triples (three), doubles per game (1.33), runs per game (4.0), and stolen bases per game (1.67). Elon also ranks second in the league in slugging percentage (.369) and batting average.
• Devesa and Penny are the lone Phoenix players batting north of .300 with their .429 and .304 averages, respectively. Devesa has 12 total hits this season – ranking second in the CAA – and is only eight hits away from surpassing her total from all of 2022. Penny paces the CAA in doubles per game (0.44) and is tied for the league lead with four doubles.
• Newcomer Reagan Hartley is second in the nation in triples with two and is 4-for-4 in stolen bases to help the Phoenix go 15-for-15 in swiped bags this season.
• Elon's pitching staff has a team ERA of 5.43 so far this season, but posted a 3.84 cumulative ERA in its five games last week. As a team, Elon has struck out 33 batters and walked 33.
• Meredith Wells leads the Phoenix in innings pitched with 24.0 while going 1-1 with a 4.13 ERA. Kaitlin King is 2-1 on the season, with her two wins being tied for first in the CAA. Sophomore McKenna McCard is holding opposing batters to a .109 average, which is tops in the CAA. Last week, the Ashburn, Ga., native pitched 10.0 innings and had an ERA of 2.10 while going 1-0 with six strikeouts.
 
SCOUTING NC STATE
• The Wolfpack are off to a 2-7 start to their 2023 campaign. NC State last hosted the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, playing against Iowa and Purdue this past weekend and going 2-2.
• NC State is batting .192 on the season, scoring 23 runs versus 77 allowed against its opponents. Former Elon standout Rebecca Murray, who is taking her fifth year at NC State, leads the team with her .276 batting average and eight hits and is second on the squad with four RBI. Madison Inscoe has driven in a team-best five RBI for the Wolfpack.
• Inscoe has also been the top pitcher for the Wolfpack this season, tossing a team-high 19.1 innings with a 3.91 ERA and a 2-1 ledger. She has struck out eight batters, which is second on the team behind Aisha Weixlmann's 13.
 
SCHAAL, MCCARD NAMED TO 2023 CAA PRESEASON WATCH LIST
• Junior Gabi Schaal and sophomore McKenna McCard were selected to the inaugural Colonial Athletic Association Preseason Watch List as announced by the league office on Tuesday, Feb. 7.
• A third-team All-CAA selection last season, Schaal led the Phoenix in home runs (nine) and RBI (38) while hitting .316 overall with nine doubles. She also had 12 multi-RBI games. Despite missing the final 13 games of the year due to an injury, the Lakeland, Fla., native still finished second in the CAA in RBI, fourth in homers and eighth overall in slugging percentage (.624).
• McCard earned CAA All-Tournament team honors after helping the Phoenix clinch a spot in the league championship game for the second time in program history with her performance in the circle. The Ashburn, Ga., native went 3-3 on the season with a 3.27 ERA in 51.1 innings while only holding opposing hitters to a .182 average. She also struck out 48 batters, which finished second on the team.
 
2023 CAA PRESEASON POLL
• The Phoenix was predicted a fourth-place standing in the 2023 CAA Preseason Poll as released by the league office on Tuesday, Feb. 7.
• Reigning tournament champion UNCW was chosen as the CAA's preseason favorite, piling up 95 points and five first-place votes. Defending regular-season champion Delaware took second place with 91 points while tying UNCW with five first-place votes. Hofstra was placed third with 80 points and one first-place vote while Elon had 71 points in fourth. Fifth place was occupied by league newcomer Stony Brook, which had 69 points.
• College of Charleston (54) was rated sixth in the poll followed by Drexel (45) and Towson (33) in seventh and eighth, respectively. League newcomers Monmouth (31), Hampton (21) and North Carolina A&T (15) rounded out the 11-team poll.
 
AROUND THE HORN
• Elon is coming off a 30-22 ledger in 2022 and went 10-8 in the CAA. Highlight victories from last season include wins over Power 5 opponents North Carolina and Michigan State while also earning its second-ever trip to the CAA championship game.
• The Phoenix returns 13 players from last year's team, including six starters and four pitchers. Among the notable returners outside of Schaal and McCard include CAA All-Rookie selection Taylor Cherry and CAA All-Tournament choices in catcher senior Carley Davis and sophomore Chloe Hatzopoulos.
• The 2023 schedule for the maroon and gold will feature eight teams that made the postseason last season and 28 games on its home diamond at Hunt Softball Park. The slate is also scheduled to feature five teams from Power 5 conferences, 14 that posted winning records in 2022 and three teams that finished in the top 35 in 2022 RPI including two teams in the top 25 that will play at Hunt Softball Park.
• Six fresh faces will make their debut this season in an Elon uniform including a pair of transfers. Sophomore outfielder Reagan Hartley and junior pitcher Meredith Wells join the Phoenix after beginning their collegiate careers at Chattanooga State and James Madison, respectively. Hartley batted .346 in 179 at bats and ranked 11th in the nation in stolen bases with 51. She also drove in 27 RBI and scored 55 runs in 60 games last season. Wells is coming off making 12 appearances in the circle with the Dukes including going 3-1 this past spring with an ERA of 4.59 in 29.0 innings of action.
• Both Hartley and Wells will join first-year players Michaela Hobson (RHP), Mauri Murray (UT), Payton Swart (IN) and Mary Moss Wirt (C/UT) as the newcomers for the Phoenix.
• Last season, Elon's pitching staff was one of the more formidable units in the CAA. The Phoenix finished third in the league in ERA at 2.98, which was the team's best since 2017. Elon also tied for the league lead in shutouts with 10 and was second in strikeouts (238) and opposing batting average (.246).
• Among one of the top hurlers returning for the Phoenix is Cherry, who led the Phoenix in innings pitched (88.2), strikeouts (87) and saves (two) while going 7-7 with a 3.39 ERA. The Suffolk, Va., native became the third pitcher in school history to toss a perfect game with her outing versus ECU last season.
• Another sophomore, Isley Duggins, also looks to build off her rookie campaign. The Burlington, N.C., native finished second on the team last year in ERA (2.61) in her 64.1 innings pitched and earned a complete-game win versus North Carolina. She finished second in the CAA in opposing batting average at .193.
 
ON DECK
The Phoenix continues its six-game road trip at the Liberty Softball Classic this weekend, Feb. 24-26. Elon will play host Liberty along with Princeton, Northern Illinois and Marshal in its five-game set in Lynchburg, Va.