ELON, N.C. – The Elon University softball team continues Colonial Athletic Association play this weekend, traveling to Hofstra for a three-game set. The series between the Phoenix (17-21, 10-4 CAA) and the Pride (18-22, 10-5 CAA) is slated to begin on Friday, April 21 with a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m. followed by the finale on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Bill Edwards Stadium.
 
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 contest will stream on FloSoftball via a paid subscription.
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
• Hofstra leads the all-time series over Elon, 12-6, but only holds a 4-3 advantage over the Phoenix on its home diamond.
• The Pride took two out of three last season at Elon, sweeping the maroon and gold in a doubleheader to start the series. The Phoenix ended the three-game set with an 8-2 win in the finale. After beginning the series 2-10 against the Pride since becoming league opponents in 2015, Elon has won four of its past six games versus Hofstra.
• This weekend is Elon's first visit to Hempstead since the 2019 season where the Phoenix swept the Pride in a doubleheader, 4-3 in game one, before taking a 7-1 decision in the nightcap.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• The Phoenix secured its fourth CAA series victory of the season after winning two out of three versus defending CAA tournament champion UNCW this past weekend at Hunt Softball Park. It was the first meeting between the two schools since facing off against each other at the 2022 CAA Championship final.
• Elon opened the series with a 6-1 victory in game one, but the Seahawks responded with a 2-1 win to level the set in game two to force a rubber match. The Phoenix fell behind 4-0 in game three, but rallied to score seven runs in its final three innings to take a 7-5 win over its intrastate rival.
• The Phoenix pitching staff held UNCW to a .176 batting average while posting a team ERA of 1.33. Mckenna McCard was the game-one winner for the Phoenix and ended the weekend pitching 9.0 innings with a 1.56 ERA.
• Elon's offense only hit .209 versus the Seahawks, but had some timely hits in the series. Kaitlyn Wells added her team-best fifth home run of the season in the series finale on Sunday and tied for the team-lead in RBI with three.
 
SCOUTING ELON
• With its series win last weekend over UNCW, the Phoenix sits second in the CAA standings at 10-4 on the season with a .714 win percentage. Delaware is first with its 12-3 ledger while Towson and UNCW are tied for third at 12-6 with Hofstra in fourth with a 10-5 record.
• Elon's offense is hitting .244 with 235 hits in 2023. The Phoenix ranks in the top-five of the CAA in runs scored (2^nd – 167), doubles (2^nd – 50), triples (3^rd – seven), home runs (2^nd – 20), RBI (4^th – 138) while being the league-leader in walks (126).
• The Phoenix is outscoring its opponents 29-18 in the sixth inning and is 10-1 overall when obtaining the lead after the sixth. Elon batters have fared well in the late innings, hitting .276 overall with 24 hits in the seventh frame.
• Claudia Penny continues her great senior season as she leads the team with her .364 average. She ranks fourth in the nation in doubles per game (0.39) while her 15 total doubles are seventh in the country while putting her in the top-five all-time in school history for doubles in a season. The Apex, N.C., native is also second in the CAA in slugging percentage (.617) and doubles, ranks third in RBI (34) and fourth in OPS (1.033). She is also in the top-five of the league in batting average.
• Bella Devesa also is having a breakout senior campaign. After only having 31 total hits from 2020-22, the Pembroke Pines, Fla., native has 32 hits with a .286 average in 2023, ranking only second to Penny in both categories. She also has eight multi-hit games this season and posted the team's longest hitting streak of the year at seven games.
• Kaitlyn Wells has stepped up for the Phoenix over the past month. The Roswell, Ga., native is seventh in the CAA with 22 RBI and is hitting .379 (11-of-29) over her past 11 games with five home runs and 15 RBI. She has also recorded a hit in all but three of those games.
• The Elon pitching staff has posted a 4.13 ERA with 118­­ strikeouts and 135 walks in 247.2 innings. Meredith Wells leads the team in innings pitched with 71.0 and has an ERA of 3.85 with a 4-5 record and a save.
• McCard has a team-low 2.44 ERA in 66.0 innings of action and a 5-3 record while tying for the team-lead with 36 strikeouts. The Ashburn, Ga., native is second in the CAA in opposing batting average at .197.
• Isley Duggins is 4-8 on the year with a 3.50 ERA in 64.0 innings while tying McCard for the team-lead with 36 strikeouts. The Burlington, N.C., native has a 0.86 ERA in 24.1 innings during CAA play, the second-lowest in the league.
 
SCOUTING HOFSTRA
• The Pride is coming off a sweep at Hampton in its past CAA series last weekend to improve to 18-22 overall on the season and 10-5 in the CAA. Overall, Hofstra has won four straight going into its series versus the Phoenix this weekend.
• Hofstra went 21-27 overall last season and was the No. 2 seed at the CAA Softball Championships. The Pride was selected to finish third in the 2023 CAA Preseason Poll.
• Offensively, the Pride is batting .255 with three players in its lineup hitting better than .300. Graduate student Kasey Collins is leading the team with 41 hits and her .323 average while fellow graduate student Meghan Giordano is second on the team with her .314 average. Giordano has also been the primary run producer for the Pride with her team and CAA-highs in homers (12) and RBI (37).
• In the circle, Hofstra has relied primarily on a four-person staff as the program has posted a team ERA of 3.64 on the season. Senior Nikki Mullin has a 3.44 ERA in her team-high 73.1 innings of action. Sophomore Haley Venturini has a 3.14 ERA in 69.0 innings while leading the Pride in strikeouts with 74.
 
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.
 
FOLLOW THE PHOENIX ON SOCIAL MEDIA
• For updates and more information on Elon Softball, follow the Phoenix on Twitter and Instagram (@Elonsoftball) and like Elon Phoenix Softball on Facebook.
 
ON DECK
Elon hosts College of Charleston for its final home series of the season next weekend, April 29-30. The Phoenix will also host Senior Day on Sunday to honor its graduating class.