Williamsburg, Va.- Sunday starter Declan Lavelle pitched one of his finest outings of the season against the William & Mary Tribe (12-19, 6-3 CAA) Sunday afternoon. The graduate, right-hander tossed a complete game shutout and left the conference's top offense in shambles after a six-strikeout, no walk performance.
 
The Elon Phoenix (11-20, 3-6 CAA) raced out to a quick start with six runs in the top of the first inning. Every Elon starter finished the day with a hit while Troy McGirt, Jackson Alford, and Charlie Granatell had multi-hit days. Seven Phoenix batters drove in a run with Alex Duffey and Tank Yaghoubi bringing in two runs each.
 
How It Happened

• For the fifth time this season, the Phoenix started off the game with four runs or more in the first inning. Elon put up six on Sunday against the Tribe. All the runs Elon would need came in the first four pitches of the game. After a leadoff single from Jackson Alford, Charlie Granatell doubled into the right field corner to put the Phoenix in front.
• On back-to-back pitches, the Phoenix added two more runs in the first. Ryan Sprock traded places with Charlie Granatell with an RBI double and Alex Duffey drove Sprock in on the following pitch with a single to right. Following a Justin Szestowicki infield single, Vince Fattore drove in another run with a single to center field. The final runs of the inning came off the bat of Tank Yaghoubi with an RBI single up the middle to score both Szestowicki and Fattore.
• Declan Lavelle would face in the minimum in the first after surrendering a shallow single. Lavelle picked off the runner at first base to get out of the inning.
• Lavelle continued to roll with a pair of strikeouts in the second inning and got out of a jam in the third to keep the 6-0 lead intact.
• Elon added their first runs since the first inning in the fourth. After a Troy McGirt double, an infield single from Alford scored McGirt from third and after a wild pitch, Yaghoubi would score to make the lead 8-0.
• The Phoenix continued to pile on runs in the fifth with a ringing, Troy McGirt double to center field that scored Szestowicki from second. In the sixth, Duffey drove in another run on a fielder's choice to make it an even 10-0 lead.
• Declan had his most efficient inning in the fifth, sitting down the Tribe in order. In the sixth, Lavelle used the strikeout. After surrendering a leadoff single, Lavelle sat down the Tribe 1-2-3 via the punchout.
• Lavelle finished off William & Mary with just nine pitches in the seventh inning to complete his shoutout and the 10-0 Elon win.

Notes and Stats

• The Phoenix improves to 11-20 on the season with Sunday's win. Elon jumps to 3-6 in the CAA following the win. Despite the 3-6 record, the Phoenix are easily within striking distance with a gap of just two games separating the Phoenix and third place in the league.
• Jackson Alford found form back in the leadoff spot. He grabbed two hits and two runs scored in the Sunday win.  
• Troy McGirt made his third start of the season and rewarded the decision with another multi-hit game. McGirt collected a pair of doubles, which gave him three on the weekend to go with an RBI and a run scored on Sunday.
• Charlie Granatell added another multi-hit game to his count and added another double. The double was the seventh of the season for Granatell and gives him 49 career doubles and 210 career hits. His 182^nd start puts him in sole possession of eighth place in Elon's Division I history for career starts.
• Alex Duffey added another multi-RBI game to his season. Duffey now has 30 RBI on the season to lead the club. He now sits just two RBI from matching his career high for RBI in a season with six, CAA series left to play.  
• Ryan Sprock and Will Vergantino both added doubles to their season tallies while Justin Szestowicki scored a pair of runs in the win.
• Tank Yaghoubi continues to play well against his former team. In six career games against the Tribe, Yaghoubi has hit 9-for-17 (.529) with six RBI and six runs scored over two seasons. The outfielder also has collected a hit in all six games against his former club.
• Declan Lavelle was the star of the day on the mound. Lavelle's complete game, shutout was the first of its kind for the Phoenix since 2021 when Brian Edgington tossed a complete game shutout against William & Mary. Lavelle struck out six and walked none while throwing 84 pitches, 65 of the pitches were strikes.

 
Up Next
The Phoenix returns for a five-game homestand of Tuesday as they welcome the North Carolina Tar Heels. First pitch with the Heels will be at 6 PM.