Winston-Salem, N.C. - Winners of six straight games, the Elon University baseball team (13-7, 5-1 CAA) will head to Winston-Salem for a midweek contest with the No. 2/4 Wake Forest Demon Deacons (18-3, 4-2 ACC) Tuesday. With 56 runs over the past four games, including a victory over nationally ranked NC State, Elon enters the contest playing its best offensive baseball since 2010. The Demon Deacons have climbed to their highest spot in the polls this week after taking two out of three games against Notre Dame over the weekend.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW

• Tuesday's game will be aired on ACCNX/ESPN+ which can be reached by CLICKING HERE.
• Live stats will be available and can be reached by CLICKING HERE.
• Follow live updates on the Elon Baseball Twitter account @ElonBaseball.

 

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BASEBALL VOUCHER BOOKS ON SALE
Voucher books are now on sale for the 2023 Elon Baseball season. For just $25, fans get 10 ticket vouchers for any home regular season game. The ticket voucheer books are available for sale at all home games, by visiting ElonTickets.com, or by calling 336-278-6750.

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THE ALL-TIME SERIES

• Elon trails in the all-time series with Wake Forest, 64-39.
• The Phoenix and Demon Deacons have squared off 103 times, the most for Elon against any ACC school.
• The Phoenix has won three of the last four meetings in Winston-Salem, including Elon's last win over a ranked Wake Forest team in 2019.
• Wake Forest has won seven of the last ten meetings against Elon, including both matchups last season.
• Last season, the two schools played a home and home series with the Deacs taking the first at the David F. Couch Ballpark in Winston-Salem. Wake Forest scored eight runs in the final two frames to take a 10-2 win over the Phoenix.
• Elon would limit the Wake Forest offensive attack in the game at Latham Park later in the season. Six Elon relievers would limit the Demon Deacons to two runs and would strike out eight Wake Forest batters, but the Phoenix lost a tight game, 6-4.
• The teams first met back in 1908 and have played in every season, except for the COVID-19 shortened season, since 2002.
• The Phoenix has battled the Demon Deacons six times while Wake Forest has been ranked and holds an even 3-3 record. The last time Elon played Wake Forest as a ranked team, the Phoenix pulled out a 6-3 win at Ernie Shore Field in 2019.

 
SCOUTING WAKE FOREST

• The Demon Deacons are coming off an ACC series win against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Wake Forest took two out of three games from Notre Dame, snagging a doubleheader sweep Saturday.
• Wake Forest suffered its first home loss on Sunday to Notre Dame when the Fighting Irish put a stop to the Deacon's 14-game home winning streak.
• The Demon Deacons finished last season with 41 wins and was eliminated in the College Park Regional following losses to UConn and Maryland.
• Rhett Lowder has been Wake Forest's primary weapon on the mound. The Preseason Golden Spikes Award watch list recipient and reigning ACC Pitcher of the Year has been fantastic to start the year. In 31 innings pitched, Lowder has struck out 39 batters and walks just five while only allowing six earned runs.
• The team ERA for Wake Forest is near the top in the country. Wake's ERA is tied for first in the nation with UCLA at 2.38 with the Demon Deacons having pitched 26 more innings than the Bruins.
• The Wake Forest pitching staff has given up just 69 runs on the season in 21 games and opponents are batting just .184 against the Deacs.
• Tommy Hawke is swinging a hot bat for the Demon Deacons and leads the club in batting average at .439.
• Brock Wilken is pacing the Deacs in the power department, having hit 13 home runs already this season. The 13 home runs lead the ACC and are tops in the nation.
• Nick Kurtz and Adam Cecere give the Demon Deacons two more strong bats in the lineup. Kurtz is clipping a .350 batting average with eight home runs while Cecere is batting .347 and has clubbed nine home runs.

ABOUT THE PHOENIX

• Elon is coming off a series sweep of Monmouth, its first CAA road series sweep since 2019.
• The sweep against Monmouth gave Elon its sixth straight win, following a doubleheader sweep of Northeastern and a victory over top-25 opponent NC State.
• Tanner Holliman has hit five home runs during the winning streak. Holliman now leads the CAA in homers with six.  
• Charlie Granatell has begun to flourish in the leadoff role for Elon. He is batting .321 and leads the Phoenix with 25 hits.
• Ryan Sprock continues to perform with the bat and on the mound. Sprock is fourth in the CAA in slugging percentage and third in the conference in ERA.
• During the four-game streak of NC State and the series against Monmouth, the Phoenix offense put up 56 runs, the most in a four-game stretch since 2010.
• As productive as the offense has been of late, Elon's pitching has been strong all year. The team's 3.18 ERA ranks 13th nationally and the squad's 3.03 walks/9 innings ranks 11th. 
• The three weekend starters for the Pheonix -- Shea Sprague, Justin Mitrovich and Ryan Sprock -- each have an ERA under three. The Phoenix are second in the CAA in team ERA, second in walks, and second in earned runs allowed. Elon is also second in the conference in strikeouts.
• Spencer Bauer is leading the Phoenix out of the bullpen with a 0.00 ERA and Ben Simon has recorded three saves to lead the team.
• At the plate, Connor Offshack leads the Phoenix with a .327 batting average and has 10 RBI on the season.
• Connor Coolahan continues to find his way on base. During the final game of the Monmouth series, Coolahan reached base five times. He is tied for fourth in the CAA with an even .500 OBP.
• Elon is 0-4 all-time against teams ranked No. 2 in the country. The last time the Phoenix played a team ranked No.2 was a three-game series with South Carolina in 2012.
• Elon is 2-12 all-time against teams ranked No. 2 or No. 1 with Elon's last win coming against Clemson in 2002 when the Tigers were ranked No.1.

 
CAA HONORS

• Tanner Holliman and Ryan Sprock were both recognized for their performances last week by the CAA, being awarded CAA Player of the Week and CAA Rookie of the Week respectively.
• Holliman, a redshirt junior, has caught fire during Elon's six game winning streak, clubbing five home runs during the stretch.
• Holliman is now tied for the lead in the CAA in home runs with six and launched two homers in the first two games at Monmouth.
• Holliman scored nine runs during the four games and completed the week with seven RBI.
• Freshman Ryan Sprock has been awarded the CAA Rookie of the Week award for the third time this season, including back-to-back honors.
• Sprock went 4-for-8 (.500) against No. 23 NC State and Monmouth in Elon's 4-0 week. Sprock clubbed three home runs in the week's four games and delivered eight RBI in the four games.
• The six innings pitched were a season high for Sprock and the one walk was a season low.  
• Shea Sprague has picked up two CAA Pitcher of the Week awards following his performances against Kentucky and Akron.

PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE

• Elon pitcher Shea Sprague and outfielder/catcher Luke Stephenson were named to the preseason All-CAA team.
• Sprague was one of five pitchers named to the team, while Stephenson earned the designated hitter nod on the team.
• Sprague ranked in the top 76 nationally in ERA, WHIP, walks allowed per nine innings and hits allowed per nine innings a year ago. He was the CAA Co-Rookie of the Year in 2022.
• Stephenson led the CAA with 15 home runs a year ago and ranked in the top seven in the CAA in total bases, slugging percentage and RBI.

 
UP NEXT

• Elon begins a four-game home stretch this weekend as the Phoenix hosts Delaware (8-11, 1-2 CAA) for a three-game CAA set. Games will be Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
• Elon will then host USC Upstate (12-9) for a Tuesday midweek game at 6 p.m.