The Elon Phoenix (16-8, 8-1 CAA) will return to Latham Park for their final game of a four-game homestand and face the USC Upstate Spartans (16-9, 3-0 Big South) on Tuesday evening at 4:15 p.m. The Phoenix is coming off the second consecutive CAA series sweep against the Delaware Blue Hens this past weekend. The Spartans enter Tuesday's matchup having won five straight games, including a Big South Conference opening-weekend series sweep over High Point.
 
How to Follow

• Tuesday's game will be aired on FloBaseball which can be reached by CLICKING HERE.
• Live stats will be available for all three games of the series and can be reached by CLICKING HERE.
• Fans can listen to the matchup between the Phoenix and Spartans by downloading the Varsity Network App which can be reached by CLICKING HERE.
• Follow live updates on the Elon Baseball Twitter account @ElonBaseball.

The All-Time Series

• Elon leads the all-time series with USC Upstate, formerly known as USC-Spartanburg, 11-8 with all previous matchups being played before Elon's transition to Division I.
• The first matchup all time between the two institutions came in 1986 when formerly USC-Spartanburg defeated Elon 14-11.
• The two schools last met in 1997 when Elon defeated USCS 11-6 on April 9^th in Elon.
• Elon and Upstate played twice a season every year from 1990-1997 playing an annual home and home series each season.
• Elon has won seven straight games in the series. Elon's last loss to the Spartans came on March 16, 1994, when USCS defeated Elon 14-9.
• During the last six games against USC Upstate Elon has scored ten or more runs five times and won all six games.
• Head Coach Mike Kennedy is 2-0 all-time against USC Upstate as the head coach, with both wins coming in his first season at the helm of the Elon baseball program.

Scouting USC Upstate

• Prior to the season, USC Upstate was picked second in the Big South behind nationally ranked Campbell and received two first-place votes in the preseason poll.
• Upstate is coming into the Elon matchup having won five straight matchups including three straight games against Big South rival High Point.
• The Spartans have won eight of their last nine games including taking two of three against the James Madison Dukes and a home matchup with Cincinnati.
• To open the season, Upstate swept CAA opponent Towson in a three-game series in Spartanburg where the Spartans held the Tigers to five total runs over the three games.
• During this five-gaming winning streak, the Spartans are scoring over ten runs per game and their offense lit up the score board earlier this month scoring more than 20 runs on two separate occasions. Upstate plated 25 runs against The Citadel and 22 more runs against Princeton.
• Troy Hamilton is the leading batter for Upstate. The redshirt-junior is batting .357 and has collected 35 hits already this season. Hamilton has claimed seven extra-base hits on the season and driven in 24 runs.
• Grant Sherrod has been the main power bat for the Spartans this season. The redshirt-junior is coming off the series with High Point where he collected six hits in 13 plate appearances and collected five RBI in game one of the series. Sherrod leads the team in home runs with five and in RBI with 29. He is fourth in the conference in RBI.
• Reese Dutton is leading Upstate on the mound as the Friday night starter. With a 3-2 record in six starts, Dutton paces the team in ERA, WHIP, and strikeouts among qualified pitchers on the team. The redshirt-junior is fifth in the Big South in ERA and is tied for fourth in strikeouts.
• Troy Hamilton and Daniel Gernon are among the Big South's leaders in hits and on base percentage by placing third and seventh in the conference respectively.
• Mike McGuire is entering his fourth season in Spartanburg and has consistently built the program to where it is. Over his second and third seasons, the Spartans won 72 games, the most wins in consecutive seasons in the program's history.
• Upstate finished as the two seed in the Big South conference last season and reached the semifinals before falling to Campbell University to end their season with 35 wins.

About the Phoenix

• Elon is coming off its second straight CAA weekend series sweep against the Delaware Blue Hens. The Phoenix extended their winning streak against the Blue Hens to what is now eight games.
• Justin Cassella was the man of the series at the plate, concluding the series with a multi-hit game in all three matchups and six RBI across the three games. Cassella has four straight multi-hit games and has four extra-base hits in his last four games including two home runs. Justin is leading the Phoenix in batting average during CAA play at a .371 clip.
• The Phoenix continued to show off their power at the plate by hitting seven home runs as a team at the plate with Luke Stephenson and Cassella both knocking two homers during the series.
• Cole Reynolds has been a reliable man at first base in the field and with the bat. Reynolds made several key picks at first base and has extended his on-base streak to 17 straight games. Reynolds capped his weekend in the second game of the series with a home run to left center field giving Elon a three-run cushion over the Blue Hens.
• Charlie Granatell continues to solidify his spot in the leadoff role. In five of his last six CAA matchups, Granatell has claimed multiple hits in each game. Granatell scored the winning run in game three against the Blue Hens following a double that would put himself in scoring position.
• Connor Offshack was the man who brought Granatell around to score and Offshack continues to swing a hot bat as well. Offshack is batting .348 during conference play and capped off game one against Delaware with a home run to bring his total to four on the season.
• Connor Coolahan has continued to find his way on base. Coolahan is hitting .244 on the season but is reaching base at almost a 50% clip at .492. That .492 OBP is good enough for fourth in the CAA.
• Ryan Sprock continues to have a fantastic freshman campaign getting it done on the mound and in the batter's box. Sprock is seventh in the CAA in slugging and seventh in home runs. Both of those tallies lead all rookies in the conference. On the mound Sprock is second in ERA for freshman in the CAA and leads all freshman in strikeouts but is second overall.
• Justin Mitrovich leads all CAA freshman in ERA with a 2.08 clip. In game three of the series against Delaware, Mitrovich had a bounce back effort. The freshman tossed seven innings and 92 pitches while striking out eight batters and walking none.
• Shea Sprague spearheads the weekend rotation and is still just as dominant. The two-time CAA Pitcher of the Week is fourth in the conference in ERA, second in innings pitched, third in strikeouts and second in wins among qualified pitchers.
• Elon is third in the CAA in total ERA, but the three weekend starters all have an ERA of under 2.20 and all sit in the top five in the conference in ERA. All three; Sprague, Sprock and Mitrovich also find themselves in the top 10 amongst CAA pitchers in strikeouts.
• Spencer Bauer continues to be a threat out of the bullpen, claiming two wins in his seven appearances and not allowing an earned run in 14.2 innings pitched. Bauer has the team low in WHIP at .75 and has struck out 17 batters while surrendering a lone extra-base hit.

CAA Honors

• Freshman Justin Mitrovich was honored this week as the CAA Pitcher of the Week for his performance against Delaware. The rookie hurler pitched seven great innings allowing just three hits, striking out eight and walking none in the winning effort.
• Mitrovich is now Top 10 in the CAA in wins, ERA and strikeouts among qualified pitchers.
• Last week, Tanner Holliman and Ryan Sprock were both recognized for their performances by the CAA being awarded CAA Player of the Week and CAA Rookie of the Week respectively.
• The redshirt junior caught fire during Elon's six game winning streak clubbing five home runs during the stretch.
• Holliman scored nine runs during the four games and completed the week with seven RBI.
• Freshman Ryan Sprock was awarded the CAA Rookie of the Week award for the third time this season.
• Sprock has been awarded Rookie of the Week in back-to-back weeks for his performance on the mound and at the plate.
• Sprock went 4-for-8 (.500) against #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 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

• The Phoenix will hit the road to take on the Towson Tigers this weekend for another CAA road series. Elon will return to Latham Park next Tuesday to take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.  
• Fans can purchase voucher books for the 2023 Elon Baseball season. For just $25, fans receive 10 ticket vouchers for any home regular season games. The ticket voucher books are available for purchase at all home games, by visiting ElonTickets.com, or by calling 336-278-6750.