Elon, N.C.- Elon Baseball (14-22, 5-7 CAA) used seven different pitchers to toss their fourth shutout of the season in a win over UNCG (18-18, 7-2 SoCon) Tuesday night. Elon completed their first midweek series sweep of the Spartans since 2015 with the 4-0 win at Latham Park.
 
Hank Krift made his second consecutive midweek start for the Phoenix and he did not disappoint. The Brooksville, KY native threw three innings, allowed just two hits and struck out four Spartan batters. Owen Winebarger got the win as Elon's top reliever as he struck out two in a perfect inning of relief.
 
Charlie Granatell had a productive day at the plate in the win over UNCG. Granatell finished 2-for-3 at the plate with a triple, a single and scored twice on Spartan wild pitches. Alex Duffey continued his hot streak at the plate with a double and an RBI in the win.
 
How It Happened

• Hank Krift faced early adversity in the win. In the first inning, a runner reached third base with two outs but Krift met the challenge with a strikeout to end the inning.
• After a clean Krift second inning, Elon added their first run of the game. After loading the bases, an RBI groundout from Justin Szestowicki scored Alex Duffey to give Elon the early lead.
• Elon added another in the third inning following the leadoff triple from Charlie Granatell. Granatell would come around to score in the inning on a wild pitch.
• Clean innings from Owen Winebarger and Hudson Narke were followed by another Phoenix run on an Alex Duffey sacrifice fly which scored Joe Yovino.
• Mike Staiano pitched a difficult sixth inning after he retired the first two batters. Back-to-back singles from UNCG put runners on the corners, but Staiano gritted out his final batter to keep the shutout intact.
• Back-to-back singles from Granatell and Ryan Sprock in the seventh inning put a runner on third with one out in the inning. Another Spartan wild pitch allowed Granatell to score for a second time on a Spartan pitcher miscue.
• The combination of Sam Nomura and Ryan Sprock finished off the Spartans in the eighth and ninth innings to preserve Elon's fourth shutout and take the midweek matchup, 4-0.

 
Notes and Stats

• The Phoenix improves to 14-22 on the season with the win on Tuesday.
• Elon takes two midweeks from UNCG in the same season for the first time since 2015. The Phoenix swept the Spartans in a season series for the first time since 2022 when the Phoenix took three straight weekend games from UNCG.
• Charlie Granatell finished with a multi-hit night and his first triple of the season. The three-bagger was Granatell's fourth career triple and just his second triple in the last two and a half seasons.
• Alex Duffey continues to pound the baseball as tonight's DH brought home another run and grabbed another extra-base hit. The double was Duffey's tenth of the season as he joins Ryan Sprock and Jackson Alford in the double-digit double club.
• Kenny Mallory Jr., Ryan Sprock, Joe Yovino and Justin Szestowicki all singled in the game.
• Hank Krift made his second straight midweek start on Tuesday night. In his last two midweek starts, he has combined to throw five innings, strike out seven batters and walk only one.
• Owen Winebarger claimed his second win of the season. Winebarger has two wins during his freshman campaign and struck out two batters for the second time this season.
• Ryan Sprock threw a perfect ninth inning for the second straight game and Sam Nomura tossed a clean eighth inning to match.
• The Phoenix turned a season high three double plays in the win over UNCG.  

 
Up Next
The Phoenix hits the road for a weekend series with Monmouth beginning on Friday. The crucial, CAA series begins with Friday's first pitch at 3 PM.