ELON, N.C. – The Elon University softball team hosts East Carolina in a single-game matchup on Wednesday, March 1. The Phoenix (5-10) and the Pirates (12-3) are set for a 4:30 p.m. first pitch from 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.
• Wednesday's game will stream live on FloSoftball via a paid subscription.
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
• Elon and ECU will meet for the 27^th time on the softball diamond on Wednesday. The Pirates hold an 18-7-1 advantage all-time over its in-state opponent.
• ECU swept the Phoenix in a twin bill last year in Greenville, N.C., outscoring the maroon and gold 11-0.
• Elon's last win over the Pirates was a historic one as Taylor Cherry tossed the program's third perfect game in the Phoenix's 1-0 win last season on March 6, 2022. Making only her seventh career start during her freshman campaign, Cherry needed 86 pitches to retire all 21 batters she faced while carving up a career-best 10 strikeouts in the contest.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• The Phoenix went 1-4 at the Liberty Classic this past weekend in its final nonconference tournament of the 2023 season. Elon played Princeton, Northern Illinois (twice), Marshall and Liberty at the tournament and picked up its lone win of the weekend against NIU on Saturday, rallying from a 7-0 deficit to earn an 8-7 victory.
• Claudia Penny led the Phoenix at the plate during the tournament, batting .375 (6-of-16). The Apex, N.C., native also had a pair of doubles, two RBI and had multi-hit games in the Phoenix's final three games, going 6-of-11 over that stretch.
• Isley Duggins pitched a team-high 16.0 innings at the tournament, going 1-1 with a 3.06 ERA. The Burlington, N.C., native also struck out 12 batters.
• Elon faced a tough field at the tournament with two teams (Liberty and Princeton) winning their respective conference championships and earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament last season. Marshall went 35-18 last season and was 7-2 entering tournament play this past weekend.
 
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, Feb. 19, 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.
 
SCOUTING ELON
• Wednesday will be Elon's first home game since playing James Madison on Feb. 19. After playing at UNCG in the first two games of a three-game set this weekend, the Phoenix will play its next six games on its home diamond of Hunt Softball Park.
• Elon's offense is hitting .232 with 91 hits in 2023, including leading the Colonial Athletic Association in doubles (39), doubles per game (1.40) and runs scored (58) while being tied for the league lead in home runs (six) through 15 games.
• Penny is the lone Phoenix player hitting better than .300 on the season with her .357 batting average. She is 17^th in the nation in doubles with six and is second in the CAA in hits (15) and RBI (nine). She also has six multi-hit games this year, leading the team by two over Chloe Hatzopoulos.
• Carley Davis ranks in the top 10 of the CAA in runs scored (eight), RBI (six), doubles (five) and home runs (two). The Bridgewater, Va., native is seventh in the country in caught stealing from her catcher position, throwing out six runners so far in 2023.
• The Elon pitching staff has posted a 4.96 ERA with 55 strikeouts and 64 walks in 101.2 innings. Meredith Wells leads the team in innings pitched with 33.2 and has an ERA of 3.95 with a save. Duggins is next 24.0 innings pitched with a 4.67 ERA while leading the team with 19 strikeouts. McKenna McCard leads the CAA in opposing batting average at .159.
 
SCOUTING EAST CAROLINA
• The Pirates come into Wednesday's contest on a three-game winning streak to close out its home tournament, the Pirate Invitational, this past weekend. Prior to last weekend, ECU swept the field at the Battle at the Beach tournament at Coastal Carolina, going 5-0.
• Offensively, the Pirates are hitting .260 on the year with 94 hits, including ­20 doubles, five triples and 40 walks. Two players in ECU's regular lineup are hitting above .300. Graduate student Taylor Edwards is hitting a team-high .366 in 15 starts with a team-best 15 hits. Freshman Anna Sawyer leads the team in RBI with 10.
• In the circle, ECU has posted a 2.10 ERA with 73 strikeouts and 40 walks in 100.0 innings of work. Opposing batters are hitting .247 against the Pirates' pitching staff. Junior Andy Bullis has a team-low 0.53 ERA with a 7-0 record. She has struck out 29 batters in 39.1 innings pitched. Sophomore hurler Jordan Hatch is 5-2 in the circle and has thrown three complete games. She has struck out 29 batters and posted a 1.62 ERA in a team-best 43.1 innings of work.
 
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
Elon plays UNCG in a three-game set this weekend beginning with a matchup on Friday, March 3, in Greensboro, N.C. That game is scheduled for a 5 p.m. opening pitch.