ELON, N.C. – The Elon University softball team begins CAA play this weekend, March 8-10, as the Phoenix (5-14) welcomes fellow Piedmont Triad rival North Carolina A&T (6-12) for a three-game set at Hunt Softball Park.
 
Due to inclement weather scheduled this weekend, both teams will begin the series with a doubleheader on Friday, March 8 beginning at 3 p.m. with the second game starting 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first. The series finale is still scheduled for Sunday, March 10 at 1 p.m. Saturday's single game has been canceled.
 
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 games will be streamed through FloSoftball via a paid subscription.
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
• Longtime Piedmont Triad rivals since 1991 in Elon's fastpitch era, the Phoenix and the Aggies have met on the softball diamond 60 times going into this weekend. The maroon and gold hold a 50-10 all-time advantage over N.C. A&T as both teams head into their second foray as league opponents.
• North Carolina A&T is Elon's third-most faced opponent in program history behind UNCG (99 games) and College of Charleston (68 games).
• Elon has won 12 straight in the series and 19 out of the past 20 meetings. The Phoenix swept the Aggies in Greensboro, N.C., last season in its three-game series. Chloe Hatzopoulos had five home runs versus N.C. A&T en route to her being selected the NFCA National Player of the Week for her efforts.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• Elon hosted No. 7 Duke at Hunt Softball Park on Tuesday, March 5. The Blue Devils were able to take a 6-0 decision over the Phoenix in the second meeting of the season between the two teams.
• The Phoenix was held to two hits in the game as Drew Menscer and Ella Roberson accounted for a base hit each. Roberson's was a double as she was the lone Phoenix runner to reach scoring position.
• Duke scored most of its runs in the first inning, plating four in the frame. The Blue Devils added another run in the third and fifth innings.
• The win was Duke's sixth in a row over the Phoenix in the all-time series, improving to 7-1 versus its intrastate rival.
 
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).
 
AROUND THE HORN
• The Phoenix as a team is hitting .214 as Mauri Murray paces the squad with her .340 average (amongst Elon regulars) along with her four homers and 14 RBI. The Marvin, N.C., native ranks in the top five of the CAA in slugging percentage (.596), RBI (14) and home runs. She also leads the team with four multi-hit games.
• Carley Davis has posted a .333 batting average in her 11 games this year. The Bridgewater, Va., native returned to the Phoenix lineup last weekend after missing a few weeks due to injury.
• Gabi Schaal is tied for second on the team with her .250 batting average while the redshirt junior is second on the team in homers with three. Allee Seering is second to Murray on the team with 11 RBI while her four doubles currently lead the team.
• The Phoenix leads the CAA in triples with six with two players – Kaitlyn Wells (3) and Megan Grant (2) –ranking first and second in the league, respectively. Elon as a team ranks 32^nd overall in the country in triples per game (0.33) while Wells is seventh overall in the nation.
• The 2024 season is the 47^th overall year of the Elon softball program and the 34^th season during the fastpitch era (since 1990). The program will celebrate its 47^th year of collegiate competition by using the hashtag #Team47 all season.
• Elon is coming off a 22-26 campaign a year ago, but went 15-7 during CAA play, tying its highest league win total ever. The Phoenix earned the fourth seed for the league tournament, advancing to the CAA postseason for the fourth straight, non-COVID year.
• The Phoenix returns 16 letterwinners from its roster last season including seven starters and five pitchers. Along with Davis and Kaitlyn Wells, some notable returners for the Phoenix include fifth-year Megan Grant and graduate student Drew Menscer and juniors Chloe Hatzopoulos, Reagan Hartley and Allee Seering.
• Hatzopoulos led the team in homers last season with 11 while Grant, Menscer and Seering combined for 77 walks. Hartley was the team's leader in stolen bases with eight.
• In the circle, the Phoenix brings back its top three pitchers in innings pitched in junior McKenna McCard, senior Meredith Wells and junior Isley Duggins. McCard served as the staff ace for the Phoenix last season, pacing the squad in innings (95.0), ERA (2.36), wins (nine) and strikeouts (50).
• Elon will also look forward to having redshirt junior Gabi Schaal and redshirt sophomore Taylor Cherry back on the diamond in 2024 after both players missed time last season due to injuries. Schaal was a Third Team All-CAA choice in 2022 after leading the team in homers (nine) and RBI (39) while Cherry received CAA All-Rookie honors after her freshman season in which she led the Phoenix with 88.2 innings pitched along with 87 strikeouts while becoming the third Elon pitcher at the Division I level to toss a perfect game.
• Bocock added three new members to her coaching staff over the summer in Jonathan Lynch, Bailey Thomas and Sophia Devesa. Lynch joins the Phoenix after spending time as an assistant coach at NAIA program Central Methodist since 2020. Lynch worked with the pitchers and outfielders at Central Methodist, helping coach several First Team All-Conference pitchers in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.
• Thomas joins the Elon staff after spending the last five seasons as an assistant coach at Utah State. While with the Aggies, Thomas worked with the outfielders while also having responsibility for all defensive instruction, game planning and in game adjustments along with assisting in hitting. Thomas also served as the travel, camp and compliance coordinator.
• Devesa arrives after serving as an assistant coach at Mars Hill since 2021. Prior to joining Mars Hill, she was a graduate assistant coach with Florida National University for two seasons.  She helped lead the Conquistadors to become the 2021 United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) National Champions as the team compiled a 28-13 overall record.  While at FNU, Devesa was responsible for coordinating and running practices, scouting opposing teams, and administrative work such as planning schedules, advising student-athletes, and game day preparations. Her younger sister Bella was a member of the Phoenix softball team from 2020-23.
 
SCOUTING N.C. A&T
• The Lady Aggies are 6-12 on the season after last playing at Spring in the Springs Tournament hosted at Gardner-Webb. N.C. A&T went 0-4 at the tournament with its last contest being a 4-3 verdict on a walk-off versus Gardner-Webb.
• N.C. A&T is hitting .244 with 111 hits, 84 runs, nine homers and 71 RBI on the season. Two players are hitting .300 or better in the Lady Aggies lineup with Joey Barkhimer (.317) and Jamari Moss (.304) leading the way. Barkhimer and Moss are tied for the team-lead in homers with two each while Alyxx Estrada has driven in a team-high 12 RBI.
• In the circle, four players have seen time toeing the rubber for N.C. A&T. Amaya Kearse and Sharla Kirkpatrick are tied for the team-lead in innings pitched at 33.2 with both players also the team leader in wins with two each.
• Jose Gonzalez Jr. is in his first season as the head coach at North Carolina A&T. Gonzalez brings more than 15 years of coaching experience to Aggieland on the Division I and Division II collegiate levels. He spent two seasons at Division II Claflin University after 14 successful seasons at Savannah State.
 
PRESEASON PRAISE
• Fifth-year Carley Davis and junior Kaitlyn Wells were named to the 2024 CAA Preseason Watch List as announced by the CAA on Tuesday, Feb. 6.
• Davis earned All-CAA accolades last season at catcher after the Bridgewater, Va., native ranked fourth in the CAA in doubles (13) and was second in the league runners caught stealing. She is also the Phoenix's returning leader in batting average (.301) and hits (41) while also ranking in the program's top three in slugging percentage (.463) and total bases.
• Wells received Second Team All-CAA recognition as a designated player/utility in 2023. The Roswell, Ga., native is Elon's returning leader in RBI (27) while ranking second on the squad in home runs (five) a year ago. The junior also earned CAA Player of the Week honors last season during a Phoenix series win over Towson.
 
2024 CAA PRESEASON POLL
• Elon was tabbed to finish sixth overall in the 2024 CAA Preseason Poll as predicted by the league's 12 head coaches as announced on Tuesday, Feb. 6.
• Delaware was tabbed as a narrow favorite to win the CAA Softball title in a tight predicted order of finish, according to a vote of the league's 12 head coaches. The Blue Hens tallied three first-place votes and 112 points to sit atop the preseason poll, ahead of newcomer Campbell, who totaled a league-best six first-place votes despite trailing with 109 points. The defending CAA Champion, Hofstra, also received three first-place votes, totaling 101 points to edge UNCW (96) by five points in fourth.
• Towson (82) and Elon (73), separated by nine points, rounded out the top half of the poll in fifth and sixth, respectively. Stony Brook (56), Charleston (55) and North Carolina A&T (39) followed, with Monmouth (36), Drexel (20) and Hampton (13) concluding the predicted order of finish.
 
ON DECK
Elon hosts North Carolina on Tuesday, March 12. The first pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Hunt Softball Park with the contest being streamed on FloSoftball.