Elon, N.C.- Nolan Straniero tossed his best CAA start of the young conference season, but it was not enough as the Elon Phoenix (10-16, 2-3 CAA) fell to the Delaware Blue Hens (14-11, 3-2 CAA) Saturday. The Phoenix dropped game two to the Blue Hens, 2-1 after defeating the Blue Hens nine straight times in the series.
 
Straniero tossed six innings in the loss and threw a season high 104 pitches. The right-hander allowed just four hits and struck out seven Blue Hen batters. The bullpen combination of Hudson Narke, Itai Spinoza and Carson Wehner combined to throw two innings and struck out three batters without allowing a base runner.
 
How It Happened

• The game opened with a complete pitcher's duel, as the Blue Hens and Phoenix combined for five hits in the first three innings.
• Into the middle innings, Straniero continued to roll and retired seven straight batters going into the bottom of the fifth inning.
• In the bottom of the fifth, a leadoff single from Tank Yaghoubi followed by a sacrifice bunt from Jake Hajdu put a runner in scoring position with one out. The Phoenix could not bring home a run with two on in the inning and kept the game tied.
• Delaware struck first in the sixth inning with a two-out, RBI single up the middle to grab the 1-0 lead.
• Elon responded with their first run of the ballgame with a two-out double from Will Vergantino which scored Kenny Mallory Jr. all the way from first base.
• Both bullpens worked to the minimum with the Blue Hens and Phoenix using different tactics but got the same results.
• Into the ninth inning, Delaware hit a two-out double that Latham Park kept in. The Blue Hens would score on a wild pitch to take a 2-1 lead going into the bottom of the ninth.
• In the bottom of the ninth, Kenny Mallory Jr. reached on a Delaware error to begin the inning. After Mallory advanced to third, the Phoenix had a chance to tie the game with two outs but could not find the critical hit and fell in game two by the score of 2-1.

 
Notes and Stats

• The Phoenix falls to 10-16 on the season with the Saturday loss. Elon drops to 2-3 in the CAA following the loss.     
• Ryan Sprock was the most effective Phoenix at the plate and finished 2-for-4 in the loss. Sprock's double in the first inning gave him ten of the season, the first Phoenix to double-digit doubles this season.  
• Alex Duffey collected his seventh multi-hit game of the season. Duffey finished 2-for-4 in the loss.
• Will Vergantino's RBI double in the sixth tied the score at one. It was Vergantino's sixth double of the season and 12^th RBI.
• Nolan Straniero threw six innings in the loss. In the no decision, Straniero struck out seven and allowed just four hits.
• Hudson Narke had his best bullpen outing of the season, throwing and inning and a third of perfect baseball with two strikeouts.
• The Phoenix pitching has combined for 23 strikeouts over the first two games. It is the most over the first two games of a CAA series since Elon struck out 26 Sea Wolves in the first two games of their series in 2023.  

 
Up Next
The Phoenix returns to Latham Park tomorrow for the rubber match. First pitch time between Elon and the Blue Hens will now be at noon.