ELON, N.C. – The Elon University softball team hosts College of Charleston in its final home Colonial Athletic Association series this weekend, April 29-30, at Hunt Softball Park. The three-game set between the Phoenix (18-23, 11-6 CAA) and the Cougars (17-28, 9-9 CAA) begins with a doubleheader on Saturday at noon followed by the series 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 on FloSoftball via a paid subscription.
 
SENIOR WEEKEND
• The Phoenix will recognize and honor its six-member senior class of Carley Davis, Bella Devesa, Megan Grant, Kaitlin King, Drew Menscer and Claudia Penny this weekend. The group has been on hand for 77 wins while helping the Phoenix to the CAA Championship game for the second time in school history last season.
• Senior ceremonies will take place following the conclusion of the Phoenix's twin bill on Saturday.
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
• In a series dating back to 1999 in the Phoenix's fastpitch era, Elon and College of Charleston are deadlocked at 33-33 all-time on the softball diamond. Since becoming CAA opponents in 2015, the Phoenix is 18-9 versus the Cougars and has won the past five league series meetings.
• The past eight games of the series have come at Hunt Softball Park in which Elon has gone 7-1 over CofC. The Phoenix's lone loss came last year during the regular-season series where the Cougars won game two over the maroon and gold, 5-4.
• Both programs last met at the CAA Tournament last season at Elon with the Phoenix eliminating Charleston with a 1-0 win. Megan Grant supplied the lone run of the game with her RBI double in the fifth inning.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• Elon traveled to Hofstra in its previous CAA series last weekend, April 21-22. Despite taking the opening game, the Phoenix would drop its first league series of the year with the Pride winning games two and three, overcoming early leads for the Phoenix in both contests.
• The Phoenix rode a nine-hit performance and a five-run top of the fifth to take the opening game of the series, 8-3. Three players had multi-hit contests for the maroon and gold with Chloe Hatzopoulos, Claudia Penny and Allee Seering each having two base hits each with Penny driving in three RBI and Hatzopoulos pushing two across the dish.
• Elon would hold early leads in the opening frame in the next two games, but could not hold both as the Pride overtook the maroon and gold in both contests. The Phoenix opened game two with a 5-0 lead, but would fall behind 9-5 after five innings. Elon battled back to make it a one-run game after a three-spot in the sixth, but Hofstra would pull away for the 12-9 win in the second game.
• The rubber match would follow the same formula with Elon taking a 2-0 lead after Seering's two-run homer in the first. The Pride however reeled off eight unanswered runs to ultimately take a 8-2 victory and the series.
• Hatzopoulos had a great series at the plate for the Phoenix, batting .700 (7-of-10) with three runs scored and three extra-base hits. The sophomore also drove in five RBI while posting a slugging percentage of 1.300. Seering also stood out offensively for Elon against the Pride as the sophomore hit .545 (6-of-11) with four RBI and a home run.
 
SCOUTING ELON
• Elon enters the second-to-last weekend of CAA play at 11-6 overall. The Phoenix is currently fourth overall in the league standings and needs one win this weekend or a loss by Drexel or Stony Brook to clinch a spot for the CAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive "full" season.
• Elon's offense is hitting .246 with 259 hits in 2023. The Phoenix ranks in the top-five of the CAA in runs scored (3^rd – 186), doubles (2^nd – 52), triples (3^rd – eight), home runs (2^nd – 22), RBI (4^th – 157) while being the league-leader in walks (132).
• Penny continues her great senior season as she leads the team with her .353 average. She ranks fourth in the nation in doubles per game (0.37) while her 15 total doubles are eighth 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 doubles and RBI (37) while ranking third in slugging percentage (.586). She is also in the top-five of the league in batting average and OPS (.998).
• 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 .264 average. She also has eight multi-hit games this season and posted the team's longest hitting streak of the year at seven games.
• Davis is second on the team behind Penny with her .278 batting average and 11 doubles, which sits sixth in the CAA. The Bridgewater, Va., native is also second in the CAA in batters thrown out with 11 from her catcher position.
• The Phoenix has three players who rank in the top-10 of the CAA in walks with Grant sitting second with 28 on the season. The Vinton, Va., native has drawn 90 career free passes and is second in school history behind Ally Repko's 100 career walks at the Division I era.
• The Elon pitching staff has posted a 4.30 ERA with 124 strikeouts and 149 walks in 266.2 innings. Sophomore McKenna McCard leads the way for the Phoenix with a 6-4 record, 2.70 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 77.2 innings of action. The Ashburn, Ga., native is also second in the CAA in opposing batting average at .214.
• Meredith Wells is second on the Phoenix in innings pitched (76.2) and ERA (3.93) while being tied with Isley Duggins for second on the squad in wins with four. Duggins has a 4.20 ERA in 65.0 innings and is second to McCard with 36 strikeouts.
 
SCOUTING COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
• The Cougars enter the series on a four-game losing skid after being handed a 5-3 verdict at Coastal Carolina on Tuesday. Prior to that game, CofC was swept in its league series at North Carolina A&T last weekend.
• Coming off a 15-37 ledger in 2022 including a 7-10 mark in the CAA, Charleston has already surpassed its win totals in both categories this season. The Cougars are currently sixth in the CAA standings at 9-9 in 2023.
• Offensively, CofC is batting .240 on the season with junior Aniz Roman being the lone player for the Cougars hitting over .300 with her .308 average. She also has a team-high 10 doubles while being tied for the team-lead with 41 hits along with Shealyn Starks.
• In the circle, Charleston has posted a team cumulative ERA of 3.17, good for third in the CAA. The Cougars have relied on the duo of Payton Lemire and Caroline Conner this season with Lemire leading the team with 123.1 innings pitched while posting a 3.06 ERA while striking out 99 batters. Conner is next up with a 3.14 ERA in 104.2 innings with 89 strikeouts and a team-high eight wins.
 
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
The Phoenix travels to longtime Triad rival North Carolina A&T for its final series of the regular season on May 5-6.