ELON, N.C. – With only a three-run lead and a leadoff runner on first base in the top of the seventh inning, head coach Mike Kennedy headed to the mound to make a change. Enter Owen Winebarger. 

The call to the bullpen was made on Tuesday night in the Elon University baseball team's midweek game against Radford. Making his second appearance this season, Winebarger relieved starting pitcher Nolan Straniero, who had thrown six innings of three-hit, one run baseball on a season-high 101 pitches. 

The freshman left-hander didn't let the big situation get to him. He worked back from a 2-0 count and finished off his first batter with a fastball to strike him out looking. Four pitches later, he got Radford's Eli Hudgins to ground into a 6-4-3 double play, getting out of the jam and keeping Elon's lead intact at 4-1.

"Just coming in and throwing strikes, not allowing any free base runners," Winebarger said. "Pitched with a lead, so just throw strikes."
 

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Winebarger worked a quick inning, getting three outs on only 10 pitches. He said he kept his approach simple on the mound: attack hitters to get his teammates off the field.

"It just gained momentum, get a quick inning and get the guys back in the dugout," Winebarger said. 

Elon scored two more runs in the bottom of the frame to allow Winebarger to pitch with a 6-1 lead. He used the insurance runs to his advantage, this time only using seven pitches to retire the Highlanders in a 1-2-3 inning.

Once again, Elon's lineup went to work in the batter's box, scoring four more runs to give Winebarger a comfortable 10-1 lead. The long bottom halves didn't bother him either, as he finished off Radford's two, three and four hole hitters in his second three up, three down inning of work. 

In three innings pitched, Winebarger allowed no hits and completed the save opportunity, marking the first one of his collegiate career in just his second appearance on the mound. 

"It means a lot, just for all the hard work and having it pay off," Winebarger said.

Elon will be home for the fourth straight weekend and will host Wofford College in a home-and-home series at Latham Park on Friday, March 14 and Saturday, March 15. The Phoenix will make a day trip to Spartanburg, South Carolina, to play the third game against the Terriers on Sunday, March 16 at 1 p.m.
 

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Winebarger is hoping the 10-1 win in the midweek game will fuel the team through the weekend. 

"It really gives the team good vibes," Winebarger said. "Not coming off of a great weekend, so we're going into the next weekend feeling good."
 

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'Rising Phoenix' is a 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 X (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Chase Strawser at cstrawser@elon.edu.

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