Elon, N.C.- Using six eighth inning runs, the Elon Phoenix (17-24, 7-9 CAA) ran away from the North Carolina A&T Aggies (14-26, 8-8 CAA) Friday night. The 14-8 victory sees Elon continue to close the gap in the CAA standings with the Phoenix now sitting a game out of the CAA Tournament cutoff.
Ryan Sprock homered in the second straight game and brought his total to nine home runs on the season.
Will Vergantino hit his first home run of the season in the win and returned to the lineup with a three-hit, four RBI night.
The bullpens were the story in the ballgame. The combination of
Sam Nomura and
Ryan Sprock combined to give up just two runs and struck out five batters. The Aggie bullpen surrendered six runs on six hits and struck out just one batter.
How It Happened
- For the first time this conference season, Justin Mitrovich gave up a run at home in CAA play with North Carolina A&T striking first in the opening frame.
- Elon responded with another first inning run on a Will Vergantino RBI single to right field.
- Justin Mitrovich settled in during the second inning and struck out a trio of batters in the second inning.
- A&T added another run in the top of the third to take a 2-1 lead after three innings.
- The Phoenix countered with four unanswered runs, two in the fourth and two in the fifth. In the fourth, after a Vergantino double, Kenny Mallory Jr. hit his first triple of the season to score Vergantino and tied the score. Mallory Jr. came home on a Vince Fattore RBI sacrifice fly.
- In the fifth, Elon extended the lead on a Ryan Sprock two-run home run to take a 5-2 lead.
- The Aggies responded with a two-run home run of their own in the top of the sixth to bring the deficit back to one.
- Elon threw another jab with a Jake Hajdu, RBI double that scored a run. Elon continued to add runs when Charlie Granatell brought in one on an RBI fielder's choice. An errant throw on the play would bring Hajdu home from third and Elon grabbed an 8-4.
- A&T would not go quietly as a four run seventh inning tied the score and the Aggies seemed to have all of the momentum.
- The Phoenix had the final word in the eighth inning with six runs in the inning to put the Aggies away. With two outs, a Troy McGirt double got the ball rolling. A Jackson Alford double to right center gave the Phoenix a one-run lead, again with two outs. After a Charlie Granatell walk, Sprock delivered again with an RBI single up the middle to give the Phoenix a two-run lead. Alex Duffey drove in another run on an RBI single to give Elon a three-run advantage. Vergantino blew the game open with a three-run home run to give the Phoenix a six-run lead going into the ninth inning.
- Ryan Sprock closed out the game on the mound with a clean ninth inning to give the Phoenix a 14-8 win.
Notes and Stats
- Elon improves to 17-24 on the season and 7-9 in CAA play.
- For the seventh time in his career, Ryan Sprock homered and pitched in the same game. This was his fourth time this season accomplishing this feat and his home run gave him two in two games this week. Sprock set a new career high for home runs in a season with nine.
- Will Vergantino hit his first home run of the year in the win. He collected three hits and drove in four runs in the victory.
- Alex Duffey extended his CAA hitting streak to 16 straight games. He recorded another multi-hit game and drove in his 40th run of the season.
- Jackson Alford had a three-hit game in the leadoff spot and had the game winning double in the eighth inning to give Elon the lead for good.
- Vince Fattore, Jake Hajdu and Troy McGirt all hit doubles in the win.
- Justin Mitrovich struck out seven batters in the win. In his no decision, Mitrovich joined the top 10 Elon career strikeout list and climbed into eighth all-time with his seven strikeouts.
- The Phoenix had eight extra-base hits in the win, which is tied for the most in a game this season.
Up Next
The Phoenix returns to Latham Park tomorrow for game two against the Aggies. First pitch with A&T will be at 4 P.M.
