Elon, N.C.- Following their first CAA series win of the season, the Elon Phoenix (13-22, 5-7 CAA) finish out their homestand with a visit from the UNCG Spartans (17-18, 7-2 SoCon) Tuesday night.
 
This will be the second matchup of the season between the Phoenix and the Spartans with the two first meeting in early March. The Phoenix cruised to a 12-2 victory over the Spartans with five extra-base hits and a strong showing on the mound from Nolan Straniero.  

HOW TO FOLLOW

• This midweek game will be aired on FloBaseball. The midweek matchup with the Tar Heels can be seen by CLICKING HERE. 
• Live stats will be available for this midweek matchup. Tuesday's live stats can be reached by CLICKING HERE.  
• If you cannot make it to the ballpark, tune into the Varsity Network App to listen to all three games this weekend with voice of the Phoenix, Taylor Durham. You can download the Varsity Network App by CLICKING HERE.
• Follow live updates on the Elon Baseball X account @ElonBaseball.

 
ALL-TIME SERIES

• Elon leads the all-time series with UNCG 42-29.  
• The two first met in 1991 in an 11-9 win for Elon in Greensboro, N.C.
• The Phoenix and Spartans became yearly common opponents since 2000 and played each other at least three times a season when Elon was a member of the Southern Conference.
• The two split the two games last season with the away team winning both games. Elon took the last matchup in Greensboro 6-3.
• Earlier this season, the Phoenix dominated the matchup with the Spartans in Greensboro. Elon defeated UNCG 12-2 with Ryan Sprock hitting his first home run of the season and doubling in the win.

 
SCOUTING UNCG

• UNCG enters the matchup with Phoenix on Tuesday at 17-18 on the season.
• The Spartans have played a number of power conference opponents including four matchups with ACC opponents: Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Pitt and NC State.
• UNCG won the first two games of their season against Big XII opponent Creighton and won both games of a Saturday doubleheader. The Spartans currently sit at 7-2 in the SoCon with series wins over VMI, ETSU and Wofford.
• Parker Wight is the leading batter for the Spartans with a .286 batting average. Wight leads the team with eight home runs and 23 RBI.
• Danny Thompson Jr. has been UNCG's best arm out of the bullpen and made 16 appearances so far this year. He is second on the club in strikeouts with 51.
• Cody Ellis enters his first season with the permanent tag as head coach of UNCG after serving as the interim head coach last season. He led the Spartans to a SoCon regular season title as the interim and was given the permanent tag in May of last year.

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 

• Elon will hit the road for a CAA matchup with the Monmouth Hawks this weekend. First pitch on Friday from West Long Branch, N.J. will be at 3 PM.