ELON, N.C. – The Elon University softball team is back at Hunt Softball Park for a three-game Colonial Athletic Association series versus Towson this weekend, March 25-26. The Phoenix (11-16, 5-1 CAA) and the Tigers (12-11, 3-3 CAA) kick off the series with a doubleheader on Saturday at 2 p.m. followed by the finale on Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
FOLLOW THE PHOENIX
• Live stats will be available for the series by going to the team's schedule page at elonphoenix.com.
• Updates will also be posted on Twitter at the team's account @ElonSoftball.
• The series will stream live on FloSoftball via a paid subscription.
 
SERIES PROMOTIONS
• On Saturday, the program will be hosting "The One With The Friends Tribute" as the team pays homage to the popular sitcom "Friends" as well as the decade of the 1990s! There will be contests for prizes as well as photo opportunities with the iconic yellow picture frame, SmellyCat along with so much more!
• On Sunday, the team will host its annual Strike Out Cancer game to help raise awareness and prevention for each different type of cancer. Fans are encouraged to wear pink in recognition of all women's cancers on Sunday.
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
• Elon and Towson are deadlocked in the all-time series at 12-12 overall. Since the two teams became league foes in 2015, the Tigers hold a 10-8 advantage over the Phoenix in league games, but Elon is 2-0 versus Towson at the CAA tournament.
• The Phoenix has won four out of the last five contests and five out of the past seven. Elon took two out of three last season at Towson to win its second straight series win over the Tigers. Megan Grant batted .556 (5-of-9) to lead the Phoenix in the series win followed by Allee Seering (.375) and Carley Davis (.364). Kaitlin King picked up one of the two wins in the series in the circle after allowing one run in 6.1 innings.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• The Phoenix won its second straight series after taking two of three at Monmouth last weekend, March 18-19. Elon split its doubleheader versus the Hawks last Saturday, winning game one 6-2 before dropping the second contest 6-4. The Phoenix won the rubber match 4-3 on Sunday to secure the series victory.
• In game one with the Phoenix trailing 2-1 and down to its final out in the top of the seventh, Elon rallied for five runs in its 6-2 come-from-behind victory. In the finale, the Phoenix came back from a 3-1 deficit with a three-spot in the top of the sixth to hold off the Hawks.
• Claudia Penny batted .600 (6-of-10) in the series with three doubles and four RBI. The Apex, N.C., native recorded half of those hits in the Phoenix's game-one win as the senior was 3-of-4 with a pair of RBI and two doubles. Davis (.444) and Bella Devesa (.400) also hit well for the maroon and gold offense.
• McKenna McCard and Isley Duggins earned the wins in the circle for Elon. McCard led the Phoenix with 11.0 innings pitched including a complete-game performance in the opening game. She finished the weekend with a 2.55 ERA and seven strikeouts. Duggins posted a 2.00 ERA in 7.0 innings and earned the win in relief in the rubber match on Sunday.
 
SCOUTING ELON
• The Phoenix currently sits second in the CAA standings with its 5-1 ledger behind Hofstra, who opened league play last weekend with a 3-0 sweep over Stony Brook. Elon's 5-1 CAA record matches its best start to league play from 2016.
• Elon's offense is hitting .242 with 171 hits in 2023, including leading the CAA in runs scored (113), doubles (36), home runs (13) and walks (84). The Phoenix offense is second in the league in total hits, triples (seven), RBI (90) and slugging percentage (.396).
• Penny is the lone Phoenix player hitting better than .300 on the season with her CAA-best .390 batting average. She is sixth in the nation in doubles with 11 and 18^th in the country in doubles per game (0.41). The Apex, N.C., native is also leading the league in hits (30) while ranking in the top five of the CAA in slugging percentage (.649), on-base percentage (.437), OPS (1.086) and RBI (20).
• After carrying only a .158 batting average going into the Phoenix's first league series versus Stony Brook, Grant has seen an uptick in her performance at the plate. The Vinton, Va., native is hitting .429 (9-of-21) since March 10 and is batting .421 during CAA play. She has recorded a base hit in six of those seven games during that stretch.
• Devesa ranks second on the team with her .284 average and is third on the squad with 10 RBI. The Pembroke Pines, Fla., native is second on the team behind Penny with six multi-hit games and is tied for the team-lead with the longest hitting streak at six games including a current three-game streak.
• The Elon pitching staff has posted a 4.78 ERA with 90 strikeouts and 112 walks in 178.2 innings. Meredith Wells leads the team in innings pitched with 58.1 and has an ERA of 3.96 with a 3-4 record and a save. Duggins is next 43.1 innings pitched with a 4.20 ERA. McCard has a team-low 3.15 ERA in 40.0 innings and is second in the CAA in opposing batting average at .191.
 
SCOUTING TOWSON
• The Tigers enter the weekend series with a 12-12 overall record and a 3-3 mark in the CAA. Towson is coming off a 4-3 setback at UNCG on Thursday, extending its losing streak to three games. Prior to that, the Tigers swept College of Charleston in its previous league series in Towson.
• Offensively, Towson leads the CAA with a .274 batting average while also sitting on top of the league with 176 hits, eight triples, 93 RBI and a .396 slugging percentage. The Tigers are also tied with the Phoenix for the CAA-lead with 113 runs scored.
• Four regulars in the Tigers' lineup are hitting north of .300. Junior Mackenzie Lake has a .384 average to lead Towson while scoring a league-best 18 runs. Madyson Peters is second behind Lake with her .372 average while leading the CAA in RBI with 21. Briana Ramirez (.333) and Cori Jones (.312) are also carrying .300 averages for Towson.
• In the circle, the Tigers have posted a 3.90 cumulative ERA with three hurlers seeing most of the time with 30 or more innings pitched. Maddie Gardner and Erin Brown are both 5-4 on the season with Gardner leading the team in innings (60.2), strikeouts (45) and ERA (3.12). Brown has a 3.80 ERA in 45.0 innings.
 
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.
 
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 is back on the road for its next CAA series as Elon treks to Hampton next weekend, April 1-2.