ELON, N.C – Just 30 minutes after a tough loss to the Campbell Camels on Sunday, the Elon University softball team started game two of its twin bill. After falling behind by two runs early, the Phoenix was able to tie things up at two apiece in the bottom of the fourth.
After a scoreless fifth, Greta Hessenthaler led off the bottom of the sixth. The freshman let the first pitch go by for a ball before smacking the next down the right field line for a double.
"I was just thinking 'see it and hit it' like I had been all weekend," Hessenthaler said. "I really wanted to be there for my team and get us going so then we can get the win."
Hessenthaler was replaced by Payton Swart to pinch run as she eagerly watched from the Elon dugout. Kaitlyn Wells hit a groundout that advanced the runner to third as Megan Grant stepped into the box.
There's a reason Grant is the program's leader in walks. She had seen the ball well all day, having walked four times between the two matchups entering this at-bat. Now, she was ready to attack.
"Throughout the whole day, I hadn't been seeing a lot of strikes," Grant said. "I got walked quite a few times, so I knew that they were probably going to be trying to pound the zone so that way I wouldn't get walked again in that type of situation. And I saw my pitch and I just drove it."
Grant didn't take her fifth free base and instead launched an RBI double right up the middle to help the Phoenix take the lead.?? The run went on to be the winning score as Elon grabbed its fourth conference win of the season.
"Our team is a phenomenal group of girls," Grant said. "I think the word to use is resilience. Even though we lost twice before, we were able to keep our minds in the game and keep our heads in it and go out here and win another game."
Elon played in three tournaments to start the season, but now conference play is the main focus for the Phoenix.
"For moving on, it's like a new season," Hessenthaler said. "We have the confidence now, we know we can do it and I think that energy is going to lead us to more wins."
'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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