Elon, N.C.- Entering the ninth inning trailing by a pair of runs, the Elon Phoenix (19-24, 9-9 CAA) battled back with three runs in the final frame to take an 8-7, Sunday win over North Carolina A&T (14-28, 8-10 CAA). The Phoenix capped off their first CAA series sweep with a third, come from behind win on the weekend.
 
Alex Duffey found his form again on Sunday. After being held hitless for the first time in CAA play on Saturday, the catcher brought in a career high five runs with three hits in a bounce back game. Tank Yaghoubi followed his multi-hit game with another with a three-hit afternoon Sunday.
 
How It Happened

• For the third time on the weekend, the Aggies struck first. A&T put up a run in the top of the first to take a 1-0 lead.
• As they have done all season, the Phoenix produced early offense. After two walks, Alex Duffey took the first pitch he saw in the game and launched a home run over the left field wall to give the Phoenix a 3-1 advantage.
• Declan Lavelle settled in during the second and third innings and put up zeros in those frames.
• A&T would find three runs in the fourth inning to answer Duffey's home run and take the lead back, 4-3.
• In the fifth and sixth, the Phoenix manufactured runs on sacrifice flies from Ryan Sprock and Vince Fattore to take the lead back, 5-4.
• The Aggies brought in runs in the final three innings, one run in each of the seventh, eighth and ninth innings to take a 7-5 lead going into the bottom of the ninth.
• Jackson Alford led off the ninth inning with a single on the first pitch he saw to put a runner on. Yaghoubi followed the Alford single with an infield single of his own to put two on. Sprock would walk on five pitches to load the bases with no outs for Duffey. Once again, on the first pitch, Duffey delivered another knock with a two-RBI single up the middle. Lawson Wheeler pinch hit to bunt the runners over into scoring position, but Wheeler beat out the defense with a two-strike bunt for a hit. With no outs, Will Vergantino stepped up with a rope to left field which was deep enough to score Sprock and give the Phoenix the 8-7 win.

 
Notes and Stats

• Elon improves to 19-24 on the season and 9-9 in CAA play.
• Alex Duffey finished his day with five RBI, a new career high. Duffey hit his first home run at Latham Park this season with a first inning, three run home run. He increased his batting average to .384 which continues to lead the club. His RBI total of 45 is the second highest tally in the decade of the 2020's.
• Ryan Sprock finished his afternoon 2-for-2 and reached base four times while driving in a run on a sacrifice fly. Sprock scored twice including the game winning run.
• Tank Yaghoubi put together a multi-hit game for the 13^th time this season. Yaghoubi extended his hitting streak to seven games and collected eight hits this week.  
• Jackson Alford finished with a multi-hit game at the top of the Phoenix order. The multi-hit game is the 20^th of the season for Alford.
• Kenny Mallory Jr. singled in the game which extended his on-base streak to 11 games.
• Vince Fattore singled and drove in a run on a sacrifice fly in the win.
• Declan Lavelle pitched five innings in his start and struck out three batters while allowing three earned runs.
• Hudson Narke pitched the eighth and the ninth innings and earned his first win of the season.
• The walk off win is the first for the Phoenix since Elon walked off the Minnesota Golden Gophers in 2024. The walk off for Vergantino was the second of his career after his walk off single against UMass in 2024.
• Entering the weekend at 6-9, the Phoenix were 10^th in the CAA standings, following the sweep, Elon now stands in fifth place.
• With the sweep of A&T, this marks the third straight season the Phoenix have swept a conference opponent at Latham Park.

 
Up Next
The Phoenix returns to Latham Park on Tuesday for a midweek matchup with the East Carolina Pirates. First pitch against ECU will be at 6 PM.