ELON, N.C. – As zeros lined the scoreboard and the Phoenix trailed the Minnesota Golden Gophers by one Friday night,
Shane Paradine was ready to make something happen. He climbed into the box to lead off the bottom of the ninth and didn't waste any time.
"I figured, swing at the first pitch, let it loose and I just got lucky," Paradine said. "[I] caught my pitch and got one out for the boys."
The ball loudly slapped off the end of the bat and sailed over the left field wall to tie the game up 1-1. Paradine rounded the bases before stepping on home as his teammates came out to celebrate.
This crucial play served as a preview for his at-bat in the bottom of the 10th. Elon looked to walk-off the game in extra innings after coming up just short in the ninth. Kenny Mallory Jr. stood on third. Paradine stepped into the box as the umpire signaled the two outs.
"To be honest, there was no approach," Paradine said. "I wasn't thinking about anything but winning."
"It comes down to you just want to win so that takes over everything else," Paradine added.
As the Latham Park crowd held its breath, Paradine came through once again and launched a single straight up the middle as Mallory Jr. sprinted home. The Elon dugout flooded out as the crowd lit up with cheers.
For the hero of the night, Paradine was just happy he was able to get ready for the next day.
"I can go home, get ready for tomorrow and hopefully win another one," Paradine said.
'Rising Phoenix' is a new student-led initiative to cover Elon Athletics. Through innovative content creation and storytelling, Elon University students will have the opportunity to highlight the moments, people and events that make an impact, leveraging the athletic department's various web and social media platforms for distribution. Follow Rising Phoenix on Twitter (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Jacob Kisamore at jkisamore@elon.edu.
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