ELON, N.C. – The Elon University softball team returns to CAA action this Friday, April 12, to take on Towson to begin a three-game set. The Phoenix (14-24, 8-7 CAA) and the Tigers (15-24, 5-10 CAA) open with a matchup at 2 p.m. on Friday at Tiger Softball 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 games will be streamed on FloSoftball via a paid subscription.
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
• Elon and Towson are tied at 14-14 in the all-time series between the two teams. The Phoenix has won the last three regular season series over the Tigers, but Towson has taken three of the last five contests.
• Towson defeated the Phoenix the last time the two teams matched up at the 2023 CAA Tournament. The Tigers took an early 2-0 lead and eventually took a 7-5 win over the maroon and gold despite a late rally by the Phoenix.
• The Phoenix won two out of three the last time the two teams played in Towson in 2022. Elon won the first two games of the series, 4-3 and 4-2, but fell in the series finale, 4-1.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• Elon hosted CAA-leader Delaware in its last series at Hunt Softball Park. The Phoenix competed well against the league preseason favorite, taking a win in the opening contest, but the Blue Hens won the final two games to secure the series.
• The Phoenix won the opening game last Friday, 5-2, with McKenna McCard pitching a complete game gem as Elon snapped Delaware's 13-game winning streak.
• Delaware recovered to even the series on Saturday, with a 4-2 win. The Blue Hens took advantage of five Phoenix errors to force a rubber match between the two schools on Sunday.
• Elon was doomed by a few early miscues in the series finale as Delaware won the final game by a score of 4-2. The series was the second straight win for the Blue Hens over the Phoenix.
• Despite losing the series, Elon outhit Delaware at the plate, .284 to .203 and had three players hit over .300. Allee Seering led the way with her .500 average with five RBI while Carley Davis hit .429 with a homer and six RBI.
 
AROUND THE HORN
• The Phoenix's offense is hitting .254 overall as a team while also scoring 177 runs with 23 homers and 161 RBI. Elon has posted a .391 slugging percentage with a .350 on-base percentage.
• Elon is in the top-three in the CAA in total runs scored, doubles (46), triples (nine), home runs (23), RBI, slugging percentage, walks (117) and on-base percentage.
• Mauri Murray paces the squad with her .330 average and is tied with Gabi Schaal for the team-lead in homers with six. The Marvin, N.C., native ranks in the top 10 of the CAA in slugging percentage (.550), OPS (.967), RBI (23) and home runs.
• Seering is in the top 10 of the league in runs scored (23), RBI (28), doubles (eight) and triples (three). The Waxhaw, N.C., native leads the Phoenix with 10 multi-RBI games this season including a season-best four versus N.C. A&T on Sunday, March 10.
• Three players – Seering, Kaitlyn Wells (3) and Megan Grant (2) – rank in the top five in the league in triples.
• Elon has four players total that rank in the top 10 of the CAA in RBI – Seering (2^nd), Murray (7^th – 23), Schaal (8^th – 22) and Kaitlyn Wells (10^th – 21). Murray, Schaal and Wells (four) are also in the top 10 of the league in homers.
• Davis and Seering also join Murray as Phoenix bats hitting above .300 on the season among team regulars. Davis is second on the squad with her .319 average while Seering is third at .316.
• McCard leads the Phoenix in the circle with a 2.98 ERA in 80.0 innings of action. The junior is 6-5 on the year and has 57 strikeouts to her name. Taylor Cherry is second on the team with 52.1 innings pitched with a 3.48 ERA and 32 strikeouts. Last weekend, Cherry posted a 0.95 ERA in 7.1 innings versus the Blue Hens.
 
SCOUTING TOWSON
• The Tigers head into the weekend with a 15-24 overall record and a 5-10 mark in the CAA standings. Towson is 1-1 this week so far with a 7-2 setback versus Mount St. Mary's on Tuesday before rebounding with an 8-0 win over UMBC on Wednesday.
• Towson, who was the runner-up in the CAA final last season, is hitting .250 overall on the season while posting a .352 slugging percentage and a .324 on-base percentage. As a team, the Tigers have scored 108 runs with 17 home runs and 103 RBI.
• Three players in the Tigers' normal lineup are hitting above .300. Mackenzie Lake has a .320 average while leading the team with eight doubles on the season. Cori Jones is batting .318 with three triples while Cara Bohner has driven in a team-best 18 runs while hitting .313.
• In the circle, Towson has a team ERA of 3.48 in 253.1 innings with 120 strikeouts and 116 walks. Erin Brown has pitched the most innings for the Tigers, posting a 3.22 ERA in 76.0 innings while going 5-8 on the year. Maddie Gardner has appeared a team-high 22 times and has a 3.37 ERA in 72.2 innings with a team-high 58 strikeouts.
 
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 second game of the series between the Phoenix and the Tigers is set for Saturday, April 13, with the game time scheduled for 1 p.m.