Elon, N.C.- The Elon Phoenix (30-20, 17-9 CAA) will head to Hempstead, N.Y. to take on the Hofstra Pride (26-24, 13-13 CAA) with a regular season CAA title on the line. Elon takes on last season's CAA Tournament Champions for a three-game weekend set on Long Island that could see the Phoenix finish anywhere from first to fourth in the CAA. This matchup comes off an impressive showing by the Phoenix offense in their series with A&T, and an offense that comes in collecting multi-hit games in six consecutive matchups.
 
How to Follow
 

• This weekend's games will be aired on FloBaseball which can be reached by CLICKING HERE. 
• Live stats will be available for this weekend's series with Hofstra and can be accessed by CLICKING HERE.
• Follow live updates on the Elon Baseball Twitter account @ElonBaseball.

 
The All-Time Series
 

• Elon leads the all-time series with Hofstra, 11-8.
• The two teams first began playing when Elon joined the CAA during the 2015 season, and they have never faced off as non-conference opposition.
• The Phoenix and Pride faced off four times a season ago with all four matchups taking place at Latham Park. Elon welcomed Hofstra for a three-game weekend series and met in the first round of the CAA Tournament. Hofstra took two of three games against the Phoenix in the regular season then won a tight matchup in the first round against the Phoenix on their way to a post-season title.
• In that first round matchup, Hofstra had secured the third seed and faced off with the sixth seeded Phoenix. Hofstra got out to a 4-0 lead on the Phoenix with four runs in the bottom of the second inning. Elon would respond with four runs across the seventh and eighth innings, but Hofstra would prevail on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth.
• Elon's last victory over the Pride came last season when the Phoenix defeated Hofstra in game two of the three-game set. Elon prevailed 6-5 which featured a quality start from Brian Edgington and three-strikeout save effort from Ben Simon.
• Justin Cassella finished the ballgame 2-for-3 while Parker Haskin, Cole Reynolds and Samuel Frontino all contributed at least one RBI.
• Elon has a winning record when playing in Hempstead, and in their most recent series against the Pride on Long Island, the Phoenix won two-out-of-three games including a 7-0 shutout effort from the combined efforts of George Kirby and Kyle Greenler.

 
Scouting Hofstra
 

• The Pride enter this matchup with the Phoenix after a three-game weekend series sweep of UMASS-Lowell. Hofstra has combined for 56 runs over their last four wins, which does not include the seven runs they scored against UCONN in the loss last Wednesday.
• The Pride outscored UMASS-Lowell 37-13 over the three-game series including a 20-run outburst in game two of the series.
• Hofstra scored multiple runs in each of the first six innings, culminating in a five-run sixth inning that would increase the lead to 18-2.
• Dylan Palmer leads the way for the Pride in batting average, clipping in at .361 in 44 games played. He also leads the Pride in stolen bases with 21 swiped bags in 29 attempts.
• Steve Harrington was another important returner for the Pride this season and he has been the team's main power source at the plate. He leads the Pride with seven home runs and in RBI with 46.
• Ryan Morash has started and played in every game for the Pride and is batting at a .324 clip with 37 RBI. Morash was selected as the CAA Co-Player of the Week, along with Elon's Justin Cassella, for his performances against UMASS-Lowell and UCONN. In four games last weekend, Morash collected seven RBI and was 11-for-19 in the four games. Coming into the matchup with Elon, Morash has had six multi-hit games in his last seven matches.
• The Hofstra pitching staff is spearheaded by Brad Camarda and Mark Faello. Faello leads the pair in ERA with a 4.79 clip and is tied for the team lead in strikeouts with 50. Camarda leads the team in WHIP with a 1.35 clip and he leads the team in complete games with three.
• Camarda earned Pitcher of the Week honors a week ago following a no-hitter against Monmouth. It was the second complete game shutout of the season for Camarda.
• Hofstra Head Coach Frank Catalanotto earned his 100^th career win at Hofstra following the Pride's victory over UMASS-Lowell.
• Hofstra has won three of the last four matchups with the Phoenix and defeated Elon in the first round of the CAA Tournament a season ago. Hofstra would go on to win the CAA Tournament by defeating Northeastern in the final.

 
About the Phoenix
 

• The Elon Phoenix enter their final regular season series of the season with a 30-20 record and a 17-9 conference record. Elon clinched their spot in the 2023 CAA Championships with two victories over North Carolina A&T last weekend. The Phoenix took games one and three against the Aggies in what proved to be a crucial set of wins for Elon.
• Elon is currently ranked 62^nd in RPI and is ranked 20^th in the Mid-Major Power Rankings by 11point7. Elon is one of five CAA members in the top 100 of the RPI poll.  
• Justin Cassella was awarded the CAA Co-Player of the Week for his performance in four games last week. Cassella has been on fire since April 1, leading the CAA in home runs, slugging percentage, and OPS during that time.
• Cole Reynolds has been an on-base machine this season, having reach base safely in 38 of his last 40 games. Reynolds has an on-base percentage of .410 and a conference on-base percentage of .468 good enough for third best in the conference during CAA play. Reynolds is also batting .350 during conference play and is top five in OPS during CAA games.
• Luke Stephenson has continued to showcase his power that Elon fans saw a season ago. Stephenson now has eight home runs on the season giving him 23 for his Phoenix career. He slashed a career high seven RBI in game two against the Sea Wolves and set a CAA program mark for longest hitting streak by a primary catcher. Stephenson hit safely in 14 consecutive games, breaking the previous mark held by Matt Oldham.
• James Broderick has been a steady glove at shortstop and is coming off another hot weekend series. Broderick reached base in nine straight games and hit .367 over that streak. Broderick has found a way on base via the walk all season, he is in the top ten for both overall and conference play in total walks.
• Justin Mitrovich leads all CAA freshman in ERA with a 3.84 clip, good enough for ninth overall. Mitrovich has fanned 55 batters on the season, another freshman category that he leads.
• Shea Sprague spearheads the weekend rotation and is still just as dominant. Sprague is fourth in the conference in ERA and is second in strikeouts. The two-time CAA Pitcher of the Week is first in innings pitched and tied for third in wins among qualified pitchers. Sprague set a new career-high against William & Mary earlier in April with nine strikeouts on 109 pitches.
• All three starters; Sprague, Sprock and Mitrovich also find themselves in the top 15 amongst CAA pitchers in strikeouts.
• Liam Dabagian continues to be a consistent left-handed arm out of the bullpen. Dabagian has an ERA of 2.41 and a team low whip of 1.15. Dabagian has allowed just 7 extra-base hits in 37.1 innings of work and has walked just eight batters.
• Joe Savino continues to make his mark out of the bullpen. Savino has made 20 appearances for Elon and has struck out 68 batters while walking just nine. Savino sits third in the CAA in total punchouts and is tops in the CAA among primary relievers. In his last outing, Savino delivered a great performance in 6.1 innings of relief. He tossed a season high eight strikeouts and earned his fifth win of the season.
• Phoenix pitching finds themselves ranked Top-50 nationally in four separate categories. The Phoenix rank: third in walks per nine innings (2.74), fourth in strikeout to walk ratio (3.25), 36^th in ERA (4.55), and 36^th in WHIP (1.37).

 
CAA Honors
 

• Junior Justin Cassella was named Co-CAA Player of the Week following his performances against High Point and North Carolina A&T. Cassella finished the week with a .500 batting average at the plate and collected three doubles, two homers, eight RBI and three stolen bases over the four games last week.
• Freshman Justin Mitrovich was honored earlier this season 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 ranked top 10 in the CAA in wins, ERA and strikeouts among qualified pitchers.
• Following the Monmouth series, 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 following his week against Monmouth.
• 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.
• Last season, Elon had six weekly award winners; this season the Phoenix have tallied seven weekly awards with half the season still to play.

 
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
 

• Elon will head to Charleston for the CAA Championships as one of six teams that will compete for a CAA Tournament Title and an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.