ELON, N.C. – The Elon University softball team begins a five-game road swing this week as the Phoenix (10-20) travels to East Carolina (23-9) for a nonconference matchup on Tuesday, March 26. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Max R. Joyner Family Stadium.
 
FOLLOW THE PHOENIX
• Live stats will be available by going to the team's schedule page at elonphoenix.com.
• Updates will also be posted on Twitter/X at the team's account @ElonSoftball.
• The game will be streamed on ECU's athletic website, ecupirates.com.
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
• The Pirates lead the all-time series over Elon, 18-7-1, since the first meeting in 1998. ECU has won the last three matchups over the maroon and gold.
• The two teams met once last season on the diamond with the Pirates coming to Elon on March 1, 2023. ECU won, 5-1, over the Phoenix, holding Elon's offense to three hits.
• The last time the two teams met at ECU came in 2022 with the Pirates taking a doubleheader sweep versus the Phoenix. ECU shutout the Phoenix in both contests, winning 8-0 in the opener before earning a 3-0 verdict in the nightcap.
• Elon's last win in the series came on March 6, 2022, at Hunt Softball Park. The Phoenix earned a 1-0 victory over the Pirates behind Taylor Cherry's perfect game in the circle. The Suffolk, Va., native tossed the third perfect game in school history while striking out a career-high 10 batters in her then-rookie season.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• Elon hosted Campbell in a three-game set at Hunt Softball Park in the first-ever CAA series between the two intrastate rivals. The Camels won two out of three to take the series over the Phoenix.
• The series was highly competitive with the margin of victory being two or fewer runs in each game. Campbell outlasted the Phoenix in the opener last Friday, March 22, taking a 4-3 decision in extras. The Camels followed with a win in game one of a doubleheader matchup on Sunday, 7-5, after rallying for three runs in the seventh. The Phoenix closed out the set with a 3-2 win in the series finale.
• Megan Grant led the Phoenix at the plate in the series, batting .571 (4-of-7) with two doubles and drawing five walks. The Vinton, Va., native had the game-winning RBI in the Phoenix's win over the Camels on Sunday in the sixth inning.
• Elon pitchers posted a 3.04 ERA versus the Camels in 23.0 innings last weekend. McKenna McCard had a 0.91 ERA in 7.2 frames while earning the Phoenix's lone win in the circle.
 
TAKE A BOW, GABI SCHAAL
• Redshirt junior Gabi Schaal connected on her 20^th career home run on Sunday against the Camels. The Lakeland, Fla., native ranks ninth all-time in program history in career home runs and is second on the team this season with four round trippers.
 
AROUND THE HORN
• The Phoenix's offense is hitting .242 overall as a team while also scoring 129 runs with 15 homers and 117 RBI. Elon has posted a .369 slugging percentage with a .329 on-base percentage.
• Mauri Murray paces the squad with her .321 average along with her five homers. The Marvin, N.C., native ranks in the top 10 of the CAA in slugging percentage (.556), OPS (.945), RBI (19) and home runs.
• Allee Seering is in the top 10 of the league in runs scored (19), RBI (24), doubles (six) and triples (three). The Waxhaw, N.C., native leads the Phoenix with nine multi-RBI games this season including a season-best four versus N.C. A&T on Sunday, March 10.
• The Phoenix is tied for the CAA-lead in triples with nine with three players – Seering, Kaitlyn Wells (3) and Megan Grant (2) – ranking in the top three in the league, respectively. Elon as a team ranks 25^th overall in the country in triples per game (0.33) while Seering and Wells are 24^th overall in the nation.
• Drew Menscer has stolen 10-of-12 bases on the season for the Phoenix to lead the squad. As a team, Elon has stolen 36-of-40 bases this season, good for fourth overall in the CAA.
• McKenna McCard leads the Phoenix in the circle with a 3.07 ERA in 59.1 innings of action. The junior is 4-4 on the year and has 45 strikeouts to her name. Cherry is second on the team with 40.1 innings pitched with a 3.99 ERA and 25 strikeouts.
 
SCOUTING EAST CAROLINA
• The Pirates come into the contest on Tuesday with a 23-9 record on the year. ECU won two out of three in its series versus No. 21 Charlotte last weekend.
• As a team, ECU is hitting .328 while scoring 183 runs with 18 homers and 164 RBI. The Pirates have a .476 slugging percentage and a .401 on-base percentage while ranking first in the country in doubles (63) and doubles per game (2.17).
• Emma Jackson paces the team with her .431 batting average while her 20 doubles rank first in the nation. She is also fourth overall in the country in total hits (45) while her batting average is 18^th overall in NCAA Division I Softball. Teammate Morgan Johnson has a .421 batting average while her nine homers and 36 RBI lead the team. Her RBI total rank in the top-20 in the country.
• In the circle, the Pirates have posted a cumulative ERA of 2.49 in 205.0 innings with 156 strikeouts compared to 79 walks. Three players have seen the most time toeing the rubber for ECU with ace Taylor Apple leading the way with her 86.1 innings of action along with a 1.95 ERA and 69 strikeouts.
• Shane Winkler is in his third season as the head coach at ECU. Over his 16-year career as a head coach, Winkler has posted 422 victories with 70 of those coming as the head coach of the Pirates.
 
THIS IS ELON SOFTBALL!!
• Elon head coach Kathy Bocock earned her 300^th career win with the program with the Phoenix's victory over North Dakota State on Saturday, Feb. 17. Bocock, who became the Phoenix's all-time career wins leader last season, is the only coach in school history with 300 or more wins at the school.
• Among her highlights during Bocock's 12 seasons leading the Elon softball program include her taking the Phoenix to the CAA title game in two of the last four seasons, earning wins versus top-10 nation teams like Georgia (twice) and James Madison and coaching the lone two All-Americans in school history (Tomeka Watson '13 and Kara Shutt '16).
 
ON DECK
The Phoenix continues its road swing with a CAA series at College of Charleston on March 28-30.