Elon, N.C.- Riding a four-game winning streak, the Elon Phoenix (6-6) return to Latham Park to welcome the Charleston Southern Buccaneers (8-3) for a three-game weekend series. After a sweep of Brown and a midweek win over UNCG, Elon has outscored its opponents 37-8 in their last four games.
 
Elon's starting pitching has been running rampant over opposing hitters over the past four games. Declan Lavelle had a career start against Brown, going seven innings, allowing just two hits and striking out ten batters. Justin Mitrovich is currently fourth in the CAA in both ERA and strikeouts.
 
Ryan Sprock had a terrific last four games at the plate. In four games, Sprock finished with a .500/.700/.917 slash line while tallying three extra-base hits. Alex Duffey has been driving in runners at one of the rates in the conference and is currently tops on the Phoenix and tied for second in the CAA in RBI.
 

HOW TO FOLLOW

• This weekend's games will be aired on FloCollege. The three games can be viewed by CLICKING HERE.
• Live stats will be available for this weekend's matchups. This weekend's live stats can be reached by CLICKING HERE.
• Follow live updates on the Elon Baseball X account @ElonBaseball.

 
ALL-TIME SERIES

• Elon leads the all-time series with Charleston Southern, 9-5.  
• The two first met in 1999 in a two-game doubleheader which Elon swept in North Charleston.
• The Phoenix and Buccaneers became conference foes when Elon joined the Big South. Elon and CSU met for four weekend series from 2000-03.
• May 3, 2003, was the last time the two met with Elon sweeping another doubleheader in North Charleston.
• Elon won most he most recent series at Latham Park in 2002. The Phoenix has a record of 3-3 against Charleston Southern at Latham Park.

 
SCOUTING Charleston Southern

• CSU enters the series with the Phoenix, 8-3 following back-to-back losses to Bellarmine and Georgia Southern.
• Charleston Southern was picked fifth in the Big South preseason poll before the season.
• Two players were selected to the preseason all-conference team: infielder Chandler Tuupo and starting pitcher Nick Timpanelli.
• Tampanelli has been the Friday night starter for the Bucs. Timpanelli enters the matchup with the Phoenix with a 2-0 record and 5.74 ERA.
• Charleston Southern has eight qualified hitters who are hitting over .300 and three that are batting over .400. Lucas Pringle leads the way in the box with a .478 batting average while Tuupo leads the Bucs in hits and RBI.
• Karl Kuhn is in his first season as the head coach of Charleston Southern. He spent the previous two seasons on the staff serving as an assistant coach in his first year and associate head coach in his second season.

 
 
ELON WELCOMES IMPACT TRANSFERS

• Head coach Mike Kennedy and the Elon baseball program have announced the arrival of five transfers to booster the 2025 Elon baseball roster.
• The eight transfers coming into the program include three pitchers, one infielder and an outfielder. Two of the incoming players have connections to past Phoenix or current Elon players. Declan Lavelle graduated from Rye High School and his brother was high school teammates with Elon great, George Kirby. Mike Staiano hails from the same high school baseball program, Don Bosco Prep, as Charlie Granatell and played with Charlie's younger brother.
• A pair of players will join Elon from the JUCO ranks and look to make an immediate impact. Jackson Alford and Alec Welshans both had breakout seasons at Gordon State and Harford CC respectively.
• Transfer Isaac Williams continues the Gaston College to Elon pipeline as the left-handed pitcher was a reliever for the Rhinos and came in a year behind current Elon weekend starter, Nolan Straniero.

 
 
ELON IN THE PROS                                                                  

• Elon has seen a number of players be called up to the Big Leagues within the past two seasons, including a pair of teammates from the 2019 CAA Regular Season Championship team. George Kirby and Ty Adcock both have made their mark at the Big League level with Kirby a key starter in the Mariners rotation and Ty Adcock being a bullpen piece in the late season postseason run for the Mets.
• In 2023, Kirby became Elon's first baseball player to represent his club at the MLB All-Star game since Tom Brewer was selected during the 1956 season. Kirby was dominate for Seattle during the 2023 season, finishing with 13 wins for the Mariners.
• The Rye, N.Y. native currently ranks second all-time in career BB/9 in major league history, only trailing the immortal Cy Young. Kirby set a career high in wins during the 2024 season with 14 and finished top 10 in WHIP at a 1.07 clip.
• The Phoenix also feature two relievers in the Bigs with John Brebbia and Ty Adcock. Adcock made his debut for the Mariners on June 12, 2023 and made nine appearances out of the bullpen before allowing a run.
• Brebbia has been the majors for six seasons after making his debut with St.Louis in 2017. Brebbia lead the majors in appearances during the 2022 season with 76 appearances featuring 11 starts for the San Francisco Giants. Brebbia made 59 appearances in 2024 with both the Chicago White Sox and the Atlanta Braves.
• Former Elon standout Cam Devanney finished his fall representing Team USA at the Premier12 tournament. Devanney earned a bronze medal with Team USA and earned a non-roster invite to Kansas City Spring Training this month.

 
 
THE FIVE SEASONS CLUB

• For the fifth time in six years, the Elon baseball program has a fifth year player who has spent all five of his collegiate seasons at Elon.
• Will Vergantino is this year's latest addition the list after a breakout 2024 campaign where he hit a career best .313 with eight home runs and 35 RBIs. The best game of his career came in 2024 against NJIT, when he finished 5-for-5, reaching base all six plate appearances, scoring six runs, homering twice and driving in seven runs in the 27-8 win.
• Liam Dabagian in 2024, Joe Sprake in 2023, Garrett Stonehouse in 2021, and Owen Lorenz in 2020 all spent five years with the Phoenix during their time at Elon.

 

PHOENIX SELECTS TEAM CAPTAINS FOR 2025  

• Vill Vergantino, Charlie Granatell, Alex Duffey and Justin Mitrovich were selected captains for the 2025 season, as voted on by their teammates.
• "Excited about the leadership these four bring to our program," said head coach Mike Kennedy. "They are all guys that have great buy in and have worked tremendously hard both on and off the field and have proven track records.  Their experience and how they go about their work each and every day is second to none.  Well deserved!"

 
 
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC STUDY ABROAD

• During Thanksgiving break of 2024, the Elon baseball program studied abroad in the Dominican Republic for a week.
• The Elon baseball team spent a week in the Dominican Republic touring different areas, painting houses, holding youth baseball clinics and exploring the culture and heritage of the Dominican Republic.
• During their first two days in the Dominican Republic, the players and staff held multiple baseball clinics for youth baseball teams. A highlight for the players was the base running station, which became a "massive game of tag" by the end.
• Elon played two games against the Dominican Republic Baseball Academies of the New York Mets and the Boston Red Sox. The Phoenix also toured the facilities of the Kansas City Royals where they got to interact with the players, talking baseball, sharing stories and helping the players learn English.
• The players were able to explore cultural activities including getting a tour of a local cigar factory and hike through a forest which led to a natural spring and natural water slide.
• A city tour and painting houses followed the exploration of the country. The players were taken back by the local children's enthusiasm despite having little.
• Baseball was involved at night as the Phoenix hosted a team Thanksgiving dinner then were able to take in a Dominican Winter League game between the Toros and Estrellas.
• Elon has made a commitment to its esteemed study abroad program by offering every Elon athletics program the opportunity to study abroad every four years. 

 
UP NEXT 

• The Phoenix will continue its six-game homestand. Elon hosts Radford in a midweek clash on Tuesday afternoon. First pitch with the Highlanders will be at 4 P.M.