ELON, N.C. — The Elon University softball team made a lot of noise this past weekend as the Phoenix took on Hampton at Hunt Softball Park but nobody made more than Gabi Schaal.

In game one of the team's twin bill Saturday, the game sat tied at one apiece in the bottom of the second when Schaal stepped into the box for her first plate appearance of the day. She watched four pitches go by until she finally saw one that caught her eye. 

With a big swing, Schaal was off and running as the ball flew over the diamond and past the outfield wall for her seventh home run of the season.

As she rounded the bases and stepped on home, Schaal took her signature bow as her teammates used their imaginary cameras to snap her photo on the plate. 

"I was kind of hoping and I couldn't really tell [if it was gone] and then it went out of there," Schaal said. "I was just super excited because I was [the] lead-off that inning to get some momentum going for us."

In the team's Friday night matchup, Schaal recorded an RBI but wanted to make more of an impact at the plate in Saturday's doubleheader.

"I was just a little bit uptight at the plate [Friday] and I kind of just wanted to stay loose and see my pitches [and] not do too much," Schaal said. "The pitcher had a lot of walks yesterday and I think we were getting a little anxious at the plate, so just staying loose, seeing my pitches and just having fun today at the plate."

This fresh mindset was evident throughout the day Saturday. Schaal scored after hitting a double to add some insurance as Elon took the first game of the day with a final score of 6-4. Schaal's positive attitude and disciplined approach helped her bat stay hot for game two.

In a tight second game, the Phoenix led by just one run in the bottom of the sixth. Mauri Murray led off the inning with a single as Schaal was up once again. In this at-bat, she did not need four pitches and instead launched the first one thrown her way. The crowd watched as the ball rocketed toward centerfield and off the middle of the scoreboard.

"We really needed that insurance, so I was just super excited for my team and then we were able to go out there and secure the series," Schaal said.

"I had a runner on with Mauri, so good job by her to get on base, but really [I was] just ready to go and seeing that pitch and driving it," Schaal said. 

Schaal's second home run of the day was her eighth of the season, which currently leads both the team and is tied for the most in the CAA. The two long balls moved her up to sixth all-time in program history with 24 career home runs.

"I was just looking for my pitch to be able to help my team," Schaal said. "The pitcher threw it there so I was ready to go and ready to unload."

With the series sweep, the Phoenix has now won five of its last six conference games. Elon currently sits in the fifth seed of the CAA standings and will look to take this win and use it as motivation for the rest of the regular season.

"We really wanted to get the sweep this weekend, not just the series win," Schaal said. "Going forward, if we can win out the rest of the games, that'll put us in the best position to be able to get that conference title. So it was really exciting and hopefully gives us momentum for next weekend on the road."
 

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'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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