ELON, N.C. – Starting a four-game homestand, the Elon University softball team hosts Monmouth in a CAA three-game set this weekend, March 21-23, at Hunt Softball Park. The Phoenix (12-12, 5-1 CAA) and the Hawks (9-19, 5-1 CAA) begin play on Friday at 4:30 p.m.
 
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday, March 21 – 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 22 – 2 p.m.
Sunday, March 23 – 1 p.m.
 
FOLLOW THE PHOENIX
• Live stats will be available for the series by going to the team's schedule page at elonphoenix.com.
• The series will stream on FloCollege (FloSoftball) via a paid subscription.
• For more information on the Phoenix, follow the program's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter) or Instagram at @elonsoftball.
 
SERIES HISTORY
• This weekend will be the second CAA series for both teams in their series histories with the Phoenix leading 2-1. Monmouth will also make its first-ever trip to Elon beginning Friday.
• The two teams last played in 2023 at Monmouth on the softball diamond. Elon won game one 6-2 before dropping the second contest 6-4. The Phoenix won the rubber match 4-3 to secure the series victory.
• McKenna McCard and Isley Duggins earned the wins in the circle for Elon versus the Hawks. McCard led the Phoenix with 11.0 innings pitched including a complete-game performance in the opening game. She finished the weekend with a 2.55 ERA and seven strikeouts. Duggins posted a 2.00 ERA in 7.0 innings and earned the win in relief in the rubber match
 
LAST TIME OUT
• Elon won its second straight CAA series, as the maroon and gold took two out of three at Hampton last weekend. The Phoenix won the opening game, 13-1, before suffering a 4-3 setback in extra innings in game two. Elon recovered from an early deficit in the rubber match to earn a 20-9 win to secure the series. The 20 runs scored were the most runs scored by the Phoenix since 2011 and is tied for the 19^th-highest-scoring outing in a single game this season.
• As a team, Elon batted .404 against the Pirates with a .585 slugging percentage and a .486 on-base percentage. Ten players hit over .300 in the series for Elon, including five players with 10 or more at bats. Reagan Hartley led the Phoenix at the plate with her six base hits, batting .600 (6-of-10) with three RBI. Kaitlyn Wells had a team-high seven RBI with a home run while Gabi Schaal and Teagan Baulsir also added homers to their stat lines.
• McCard won both games for the Phoenix in the circle. The senior pitched 7.1 frames and had an ERA of 1.91 with seven strikeouts.
 
AROUND THE HORN
• Elon is tied for third in the CAA standings with its 5-1 ledger along with Monmouth and Charleston. Campbell and Delaware are tied for the top of the league standings at 6-0. Towson is the only other school with a .500 or better record in the standings at 3-3.
• As a team, Elon is batting .289 while scoring 134 runs with 20 home runs and 115 RBI. The Phoenix ranks fourth in the CAA in runs and doubles (31) and is tied for second in the league in home runs with Towson. The Phoenix ranks third overall in the CAA in slugging percentage (.447) and is only one of six teams to convert a triple play this season in the NCAA.
• Greta Hessenthaler leads the team with her .397 batting average and is third on the squad with 27 total hits. The Liberty, N.C., native batted .571 last weekend at Hampton and extended her reached base streak to 23 games.
• Kaitlyn Wells is second behind Hessenthaler with her .373 batting average. The senior is the Phoenix's and the CAA leader in home runs with seven. The Roswell, Ga., native is also tied for the league lead in RBI with 24 and is second in the CAA with her .760 slugging percentage. She also ranks third in OPS at 1.195.
• Allee Seering is third on the squad with her .346 average and is tied with Wells for the team-lead in hits with 28. The senior has three homers with 17 RBI while ranking in the top-five of the CAA in total hits.
• Fifth-year Gabi Schaal is fourth in the CAA in RBI with 21 and has 119 in her career, moving into the top-four in school history. The Lakeland, Fla., native also has 31 career home runs, the third player in school history to reach 30 or more round trippers behind Elon Hall of Famers, Carleigh Nester (36) and Tomeka Watson (34).
• Elon's pitching staff has posted a 4.97 cumulative ERA this season in 153.2 innings of action. The Phoenix hurlers have accounted for 101 strikeouts compared to 94 walks.
• McCard leads the Phoenix in innings pitched at 44.0 while posting a 2.23 ERA with a 5-2 record and 34 strikeouts. Taylor Cherry is second with 30.1 innings of action and is second to McCard in strikeouts with 26. Cherry also has one of the Phoenix's two saves on the year along with Duggins.
 
SCOUTING MONMOUTH (9-19, 5-1 CAA)
• Monmouth is 9-19 on the season and is in the top-half of the CAA standings with its 5-1 record. The Hawks dropped a twin bill versus their instate foe Saint Peter's on Wednesday, but won its CAA series versus Drexel last weekend for its second straight league win.
• Offensively, the Hawks are slashing .266/.320/.354 with 101 runs scored along with 30 doubles and 89 RBI. Monmouth has yet to hit a home run on the season.
• Two players in Monmouth's regular lineup are hitting .300 or better with junior Jayla Cadena leading the way with her .315 average. Sophomore Liv Smith is batting .300 while another sophomore, Gabby Gesualdo, and freshman Kylee McLain are tied for the team lead with 22 hits. Five players have registered 10 or more RBI for the Hawks with McLain leading the team with 12.
• In the circle, the Hawks have posted a cumulative ERA of 6.06 on the season in 174.1 innings with 81 strikeouts compared to 85 walks. Cadena doubles with her efforts at the plate by leading Monmouth with 74.2 innings pitched with a 3.94 ERA and a 6-5 ledger. Sophomore Olivia Lewis has a team-high 40 strikeouts on the season, good for eighth in the CAA.
• Morgan Royer is in her first season as the head coach at Monmouth after previously serving as an assistant coach at UMass from 2022-24 under head coach Danielle Henderson, where she helped lead the Minutewomen to 55 total wins and an appearance in the 2024 Atlantic 10 Tournament semifinals.
 
PRESEASON PRAISE
• Elon had four members of its program recognized on the 2025 Preseason All-CAA Softball Team as announced by the league office on Jan. 31. Fifth-year Gabi Schaal, senior McKenna McCard and junior Mauri Murray were selected to the Preseason All-CAA Team in their respective positions. Senior Allee Seering was an honorable mention nod.
• Schaal was a Second Team All-CAA choice last season as the Lakeland, Fla, native led the CAA in home runs with 11 and finished third in the league with 38 RBI. She finished in the top 10 of the CAA in slugging percentage (.556).
• Murray was selected to the All-CAA First Team after leading the team in batting average (.361) and slugging percentage (.583). The Marvin, N.C., native notched 52 hits in 144 at-bats while scoring 32 runs with eight homers and 33 RBI while ranking in the top-10 of the CAA in several categories. She also earned NFCA Mid-Atlantic Third Team All-Region honors.
• McCard served as the Phoenix's ace in the circle, leading the Phoenix in appearances (30), starts (21), complete games (11) and innings pitched (122.0). The Ashburn, Ga., native posted a 2.52 ERA while also striking out a team-high 85 batters while posting four shutouts on the season.
• Seering was named to the All-CAA Second Team during her junior campaign last season. The Waxhaw, N.C., native led the Phoenix with 40 RBI and 15 stolen bases and was second on the squad in doubles (12) and hits (49).
 
RETURNING PHOENIX
• Outside of the four preseason All-CAA honorees, the Phoenix returns several key players in 2025, including starters Greta Hessenthaler (second base), Kaitlyn Wells (outfield) and Reagan Hartley (outfield). Hessenthaler was a CAA All-Rookie team choice last season while Wells was third on the team with six home runs. Hartley finished third on the program with 11 stolen bases.
• In the circle, Elon returns 100 percent of its pitching staff last season. Along with McCard, the Phoenix welcomes back the arms of Taylor Cherry, Meredith Wells, Isley Duggins, Michaela Hobson, Kyra Leonard, Anna Dew and Lia Miller.
 
CALL HER COACH CAR
• Elon added a familiar face to its coaching staff this summer as Carley Davis begins her first season as an assistant coach on head coach Kathy Bocock's staff in 2025.
• Davis concluded her career with the Phoenix last spring, spending most of her time as a starter behind the plate. She appeared in 197 career games with 194 starts for the maroon and gold and was a two-time All-CAA Second Team selection. A native of Bridgewater, Va., Davis finished her career as Elon's all-time Division I leader in runners caught stealing with 37. This past season, Davis hit a career-best .312 with four homers and 24 RBI.
• Along with Davis, Bocock also made another staff change with the elevation of Sophia Devesa to a full-time assistant and recruiting coordinator after Devesa spent her first season as a volunteer for the Phoenix in 2024. Devesa was part of a staff that helped mentor the Phoenix batters to hit .270 last season, Elon's highest batting average since 2018. The Phoenix's offense was also second in the CAA in runs scored with 252 while its 34 home runs were a league best.
 
2024 RECAP
• Elon finished last season with a 23-29 ledger and a 17-10 mark during CAA play. The 17 league wins mark the most for the program since joining the league as the Phoenix reached the CAA Softball Championships for the fifth straight season (excluding the canceled 2020 COVID-19 season).
• Among the notable accomplishments for the Phoenix last season included Elon head coach Kathy Bocock earning her 300^th career win with the program. Bocock, who is the Phoenix's all-time career wins leader, earned the milestone versus North Dakota State at the Marucci Classic.
• The Phoenix had five players received All-CAA recognition last season. Sophomore Mauri Murray received All-CAA First Team laurels while fifth-year Carley Davis, redshirt junior Gabi Schaal and junior Allee Seering were placed on the league's Second Team. Freshman Greta Hessenthaler rounded out the All-CAA Phoenix honorees with her spot in the All-Rookie Team.
• Schaal also received some hardware for her work both on and off the field as she was named the softball recipient of the 2023-24 Coastal Athletic Association's Leadership and Sport Excellence Award.
• Megan Grant became the program's all-time career leader in walks at the Division I level. The Vinton, Va., native retired after last season with 125 career free passes to her name.
 
ON DECK
• The Phoenix closes out its four-game homestand versus East Carolina next Tuesday, March 25. Game time is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Hunt Softball Park and will stream on FloCollege (FloSoftball).