ELON, N.C. – The Elon University softball team split its Colonial Athletic Association twin bill versus Towson on Saturday, March 25, as the Tigers took the opening game, 2-0, before the Phoenix rallied for a 6-5 victory in the nightcap at Hunt Softball Park.
 
Elon moved to 12-17 overall on the year and 6-2 in the CAA after the doubleheader. Towson carries a 13-13 ledger and a 4-4 CAA record into the series finale on Sunday.
 
Game One: Towson 2, Elon 0
Game one was a pitcher's duel between Towson's Maddie Gardner and Elon's McKenna McCard. Gardner however got the best of the Phoenix bats on the day as the junior held the Phoenix to only three hits in the circle in her first shutout of the year.
 
Gardner got some early help offensively as the Tigers took advantage of a pair of Phoenix errors to plate the first run in the top of the opening frame. Briana Ramirez reached on an Elon miscue and later scored on another maroon and gold error with two outs to put Towson ahead 1-0.
 
Towson added another insurance run in the top of the fifth inning. The fifth inning started with a pair of singles from Ally Hickman and Elizabeth Yoskowitz and a walk by Ramirez to load the bases. This opened the door for Cori Jones to hit a sacrifice fly to bring in another run, making the score 2-0. McCard and the Phoenix got out of the jam by inducing a double play on the next at bat.
 
That would be more than enough run support for Gardner as the Sun Prairie, Wis., native allowed only one runner to reach scoring position as she improved to 6-4 on the season. Gardner also struck out four batters and walked one in her complete-game performance.
 
McCard went 6.0 innings and ended her day with two strikeouts and five hits allowed. Meredith Wells came in for relief in the top of the seventh and had one strikeout to close out the game for the Phoenix.
 
Game Two: Elon 6, Towson 5
The second game was marred with miscues as both teams combined for 12 errors total in the contest. The Tigers benefited off a couple of Phoenix mistakes in the top of the opening inning again, plating three runs to take the early 3-0 lead.
 
Elon got a run back also in part to a Towson error in its home half of the first. Megan Grant received a free pass to begin the inning and moved to second on a sac but. She would advance to third on a single by Allee Seering before scoring on an errant throw by the catcher to put the Phoenix on the board. The Phoenix saw its threat end abruptly as a double play on a lineout ended the inning with Towson ahead 3-1.
 
The Phoenix responded to tie the game in the bottom of the second. The Tigers induced the first two outs of the inning, but Elon stayed alive after an error allowed Mauri Murray to reach second as Kaitlyn Wells came to the plate. The sophomore battled to a 2-1 count before connecting on her first home run of the year with the two-run blast going over the wall in right field and tying the game at three-all.
 
Towson regained the lead in the top of the third. The Tigers' Mackenzie Lake opened the frame with a double but was in danger of being stranded as the next two batters were struck out. Towson battled to load the bases on a walk and a single before scoring on a Phoenix error to retake the lead, 4-3.
 
The Tigers expanded their lead to two in the top half of the fourth. Madyson Peters drove a two-out single down the left field line, scoring Ramirez who had reached earlier in the inning on a single. The RBI gave the Phoenix a 5-3 deficit going to the bottom of the fourth.
 
Elon had a chance to respond in the home half of the fourth. Carley Davis reached on a walk to start the inning and moved to second on Bella Devesa's bloop single to second. Davis advanced to third on a throwing error before Devesa also reached scoring position on a stolen base with two outs. After a hit-by-pitch to Chloe Hatzopoulos put ducks on the pond for the Phoenix, a groundout would help the Tigers escape the jam.
 
The Phoenix again saw a chance to put runs on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Seering reached with one out on an error while Davis joined her on the bases after a walk. A wild pitch moved both into scoring position, but Towson induced the final out on a grounder.
 
Towson looked to add more insurance runs in the top of the sixth. An error allowed Ramirez to reach to lead off the inning before she moved to second on a sac bunt and to third a single to center by Lake. The Phoenix recorded the second out of the inning on a fly out before Lake stole second to give the Tigers runners in scoring position. Elon's Isley Duggins finagled her way out of the jam with a strikeout to end the inning.
 
Elon finally took the lead in the bottom of the sixth on a Towson error. The Phoenix saw its first two batters set down on a couple of grounders before Hatzopoulos kept Elon alive after reaching on an error. She would move to second on a wild pitch before another error enabled Grant to get on and move to second with Drew Menscer coming to the plate. Menscer bunted the ball towards the pitcher, who then threw the ball to the catcher as Elon was charging home on the play. With multiple runners on the base paths, the Tigers tried to get the final out at second, but a wild throw went past to defender into the uncovered outfield, allowing all three Phoenix runners on base to score and take a 6-5 lead.
 
Towson was not going away quietly as the Tigers responded with a leadoff double in the top of the seventh to put the tying run into immediate scoring position. Duggins was able to induce the next two outs on a grounder and a strikeout, but Towson had another runner reach on a hit-by-pitch with the top of its lineup coming back up. Duggins however closed out the game on a ground out to second as the Phoenix took game two, 6-5, to split the doubleheader.
 
Wells' home run was her first of the season while her two RBI also led the Phoenix offensively. The Phoenix recorded five hits in game two by five different players while also leaving six runners on base.
 
Duggins picked up her second straight win to improve to 3-6 on the season. The Burlington, N.C., native gave up 10 hits and five runs, but only one earned. She also struck out a season-high six batters in the complete-game effort.
 
On Deck
The Phoenix concludes the series with a rubber match on Sunday, March 26. That game is slated for a 1 p.m. start and will air on FloSoftball.