HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – The Elon University softball team is set for the 2023 Colonial Athletic Association Softball Tournament in Hempstead, N.Y. The fourth-seeded Phoenix (22-24) opens play on Wednesday, May 10 at noon versus fifth-seeded Towson (27-23) at Bill Edwards Stadium at Hofstra University.
 
FOLLOW THE PHOENIX
• Live stats will be available for the game 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 contest will stream on FloSoftball via a paid subscription.
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
• Elon holds a slight 14-13 edge over Towson in the all-time series between the two schools. Wednesday's matchup will be the third time that the Phoenix and Tigers are facing each other in the CAA Tournament with Elon winning the previous two contests.
• The Phoenix won the season series over the Tigers, taking two out of three contests at Hunt Softball Park on March 25-26. Towson won the opening game of the three-game set, 2-0, before Elon rallied for a 6-5 win in game two and then took the rubber match, 12-4.
• In the rubber match, Claudia Penny drove in a career-high seven RBI while Kaitlyn Wells added a home run and three RBI as Elon posted then season-highs in runs scored (12), hits (12), RBI (12) and doubles (four).
• Wells ended up hitting .625 in the series (5-of-8) with two home runs, five RBI and a double. She ended up earning CAA Player of the Week honors on March 27.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• Elon swept North Carolina A&T in its final series of the regular season last weekend, May 5-6. The wins helped the Phoenix extend its win streak over its Piedmont Triad rival to 12 games while also clinching a top-four seed for the CAA Tournament.
• The Phoenix took game one, 9-0, in six innings before earning a second run-rule victory over the Aggies, 12-4, in game two on Friday. The maroon and gold concluded the series with a 10-5 win in the finale on Saturday.
• Elon's offense batted .388 in the series with six players hitting over .300. In the circle, McKenna McCard went 2-0 with a 0.88 ERA in 8.0 innings while sharing a shutout with Isley Duggins, who earned the other win in the series.
 
CINCO DE CHLOE
• One player that stood out last weekend at N.C. A&T was sophomore Chloe Hatzopoulos. The Huntersville, N.C., native had a monster weekend against the Aggies, batting .778 (7-of-9) with seven runs scored, five home runs and 12 RBI with a 2.444 slugging percentage.
• Hatzopoulos opened the series with three home runs in three at-bats, totaling seven RBIs and three runs scored in a 9-0 win for the Phoenix. The three-homer game matches the NCAA single-game high this spring. She followed the performance with two RBI singles in game two before going 2-for-3 with two home runs, three RBIs and three runs scored in the series finale.
• Hatzopoulos' play helped her earn a pair of weekly awards. She was selected as the CAA Player of the Week on May 8, her first career weekly honor and the third this season for the Phoenix after Penny and Kaitlyn Wells.
• She was selected as the Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week on Tuesday, May 9, becoming the first player in school history to receive weekly national laurels from the NFCA. She is also the first CAA player to earn the award since 2020.
 
THREE NAMED ALL-CAA
• The Phoenix had three members of its program selected to the 2023 All-CAA Teams as released by the league office on Tuesday, May 9.
• Penny (first team), Carley Davis (second team) and Kaitlyn Wells (second team) were the Phoenix representatives on the All-CAA teams. This is the seventh time out of the past eight seasons that Elon has had three or more All-CAA honorees.
• Penny has put together an outstanding senior campaign for the Phoenix, ranking second in the CAA in RBI (39) and doubles (16), sixth in OPS (.973), eighth in slugging percentage (.564) and ninth in batting average (.353). The Apex, N.C., native ranks eighth in the NCAA in doubles per game (0.35) and 18th in the nation in total doubles.
• Davis received All-CAA honors for the first time in her career. The Bridgewater, Va., native ranks fifth in the CAA in total doubles with 12 and second in the league with 14 runners thrown out from her catcher position. Davis is second on the team in batting average (.295), doubles and hits (38), third in slugging percentage (.434) and fourth in RBI (20).
• Wells received Second Team All-CAA recognition as a designated player/utility. The sophomore ranks second on the Phoenix in home runs (five) and RBI (27), sitting in the top-10 of the CAA in both categories.
 
SCOUTING ELON
• This is the fourth straight "full" season that the Phoenix has reached the CAA postseason and the second year as the fourth seed. Elon is 7-10 all-time at the league championships. Last season, Elon advanced to the CAA Championship game for the second time in school history.
• Elon's offense is hitting .256 with 302 hits in 2023. The Phoenix ranks in the top-five of the CAA in runs scored (3^rd – 226), doubles (4^th – 58), triples (5^th – 10), home runs (2^nd – 27), RBI (4^th – 191) while being the league-leader in walks (151).
• The Phoenix has two players who rank in the top-10 of the CAA in walks with Megan Grant tying the CAA-lead with 30. The Vinton, Va., native has drawn 92 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 4.27 ERA with 146 strikeouts and 159 walks in 296.2 innings. McCard leads the way for the Phoenix with a 9-4 record, 2.38 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 91.0 innings of action. The Ashburn, Ga., native is also fourth in the CAA in opposing batting average at .209.
• Meredith Wells is second on the Phoenix in innings pitched (84.0) and ERA (4.17). Duggins has a 4.32 ERA in 71.1 innings and is second to McCard with 41 strikeouts.
 
SCOUTING TOWSON
• The Tigers enter the CAA Tournament as the fifth seed after missing the tournament the previous two seasons. Towson opened play at the league championships with a 3-2 win in its contest versus North Carolina A&T on Tuesday.
• Towson leads the CAA in a number of offensive categories. Going into Wednesday's game, the Tigers pace the CAA in batting average (.289), runs (235), doubles (66), triples (16), RBI (206) and on-base percentage (.356).
• Individually, the Tigers had six members of its program earn All-CAA laurels including three First Team honorees in Madyson Peters, Mackenzie Lake and Addie Ferguson. Lake leads Towson with a .405 average with 39 hits, nine doubles, five homers and 36 RBI. Peters leads the CAA with 19 doubles and is tied with Lake for the team-lead with 36 RBI.
• Staff ace Maddie Gardner has a 14-7 record in the circle along with a 3.28 ERA in 148.0 innings to lead the Tigers. Overall, Towson has a cumulative ERA of 4.47 with 192 strikeouts with 128 of those coming from Gardner.
 
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
A Phoenix win advances them to play on Thursday, May 11, for a matchup versus No. 1 seed Delaware. A loss puts the Phoenix in the loser's bracket where Elon will face the loser between No. 3 seed Hofstra and No. 7 seed Stony Brook tomorrow evening at 5 p.m.