West Long Branch, N.J. - Freshman Ryan Sprock clubbed two home runs as the Elon University baseball team (11-7, 3-1 CAA) defeated the Monmouth Hawks (7-7, 1-3 CAA) 12-5 Friday night in game one of a three-game Colonial Athletic Association weekend series.

For the second consecutive game, the Phoenix offense got hot early. In the first four innings, Elon piled on seven runs, then answered with five runs in the ninth. 

Elon starter Shea Sprague pitched a career high 7 2/3 innings in the victory. The sophomore struck out six Hawks while walking just one and earned his third win of the season.

At 3-1 in the conference, Elon sits in a three-way tie atop the CAA standings with UNCW and Charleston. Delaware, at 2-1, and Northeastern, at 3-2, sit 1/2 game behind.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Elon scored a first-inning run for the third straight game as Connor Offshack drew a one-out walk and then moved to third on a Luke Stephenson double. Cole Reynolds hit a sacrifice fly to left field to plate Offshack for the 1-0 lead.
• The Phoenix added to the lead in the second as Tanner Holliman drew a leadoff walk. James Broderick followed with a base hit and the pair scored as Charlie Granatell ripped a double to the left field wall for a pair of RBI.
• In the third, Ryan Sprock led off the inning with the first of his two home runs in the game, driving one over the right field wall for a 4-0 Elon lead.
• With the bases loaded later in the third, Connor Coolahan hit a blooper into short centerfield that scored Reynolds for a 5-0 advantage.
• Sprock bashed his second homer of the game in the fourth, a two-run blast over the left centerfield wall for a 7-0 lead.
• Monmouth rallied with a run in the sixth and then a two-run homer in the eighth to get within four, but Elon made up those runs in the ninth.
• The Phoenix scored a run after an errant pick-off throw by the catcher went into left field, and then Tanner Holliman blasted a two-run homer down the left field line for a 10-3 advantage.
• Coolahan scored Elon's 11^th run after an error on a pick-off attempt.
• Granatell followed with an RBI double to give Elon a 12-3 lead.
• In the bottom of the ninth, Monmouth drove in two runs with two outs for the final 12-5 score.

 
NOTES AND STATS

• Ryan Sprock hit two home runs, giving him three in the last two games. He hit a three-run bomb in Elon's 14-6 midweek victory over No. 17/23 NC State.
• Shea Sprague pitched a career-long 7 2/3 innings. His previous long was a seven-inning outing at Northeastern a year ago. Sprague struck out six batters.
• Sprague earned the victory, scattering eight hits and a walk, allowing two earned runs.
• Cole Reynolds reached base for the 12^th consecutive game, the longest such streak of the year for an Elon batter. He went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI.
• Elon's four-game win streak is the longest since the team won five in a row from May 1-13, 2022. Elon beat UNCW, Delaware twice, North Carolina A&T and Towson in that stretch.
• Tanner Holliman's ninth-inning home run was his fourth in the past three conference games and extended his hit streak to six games.
• Elon's 26 runs in the past two games are the most runs the Phoenix has scored in a two-game stretch this season. It's the most runs in a two-game span for Elon since scoring an identical 26 over two games against Charleston in 2021.
• Elon drew nine walks in the game, led by three from James Broderick. The nine walks tied a season-high.
• With the five-run ninth inning, Elon has three five-run innings in the past two games.
• Elon had seven extra base hits in the contest, the most for the Phoenix since recording seven against Towson on May 15, 2022.

UP NEXT

• Elon will play Monmouth in game two Saturday at 1 p.m. Sunday's third game will also start at 1 p.m.