Buies Creek, N.C.- After an exciting game one win in Buies Creek last night, the Elon Phoenix (24-27, 13-11 CAA) were swept in their doubleheader against Campbell (22-28, 13-11 CAA) on Saturday. The Phoenix dropped two straight CAA games for the first time since early April and fell in the series to Campbell after winning seven straight CAA games.
 
Pitchers Declan Lavelle and Hank Krift both struck out batters at high clips on Saturday. Lavelle put up a strikeout total he has not reached since early March and Krift set a new high mark for strikeouts in a game against the Camels.
 
 
Game One

• The Phoenix offense got the ball rolling in game one with another strong start. Elon followed up last night's early scoring barrage with another outburst in the first inning. With two outs in the inning, Alex Duffey got back on track with an RBI double into left center to give the Phoenix an early lead. After Duffey's double, the hits kept coming. Will Vergantino doubled to follow in kind to Duffey's to give Elon a 2-0 lead. Singles from Kenny Mallory Jr., Tank Yaghoubi and Jake Hajdu all brought in runs with two outs in the inning to give Elon a 5-0 lead after half an inning of play.
• Campbell got a run back in the bottom of the first, but the Phoenix would get it right back with a Kenny Mallory Jr. sacrifice fly.
• Much like game one of the series, the second inning was used as a spark plug for the Camel offense. Over the next three innings, the Camels scored eight unanswered runs to take a 9-6 lead after four.
• The combination of Hank Krift and Owen Winebarger would limit the Camel's offense in the final innings, but the Elon offense could not find another run and Campbell would take game one, 11-6.

 
 
Game Two

• In game two of the doubleheader, it was Campbell that struck first for the first time in the series. A double and sacrifice fly gave the Camels a 2-0 lead after one inning of play.
• Declan Lavelle settled in in the following frames, with two clean innings in the second and third.
• Campbell added another run in the fourth to take a 3-0 lead.
• Lavelle saw his best innings in the fifth and sixth as he retired all six batters he faced in the innings.
• Campbell scored three runs in the seventh and eighth innings to take a 6-0 lead while the Elon offense could not find the scoreboard in game two.

 
 
Notes and Stats

• Elon falls to 24-27 on the season and 13-11 in CAA play.  
• With a Delaware loss to Monmouth, Elon holds its ground in a tie for fourth place in the conference with a 1.5 game lead on the Blue Hens for the final spot in the CAA Tournament.
• Alex Duffey collected a hit in both games of the doubleheader and scored a run in game one.
• Kenny Mallory Jr. had a team-high two RBI in game one.
• Tank Yaghoubi reached base four times over two games with a pair of singles and two walks.
• Declan Lavelle struck out seven batters, his most in a game since his outing against Charleston Southern.
• Hank Krift matched a career high with five strikeouts and now has a total of 38 punchouts in his freshman season.
• Six Phoenix collected a hit in the first inning of game one of the Saturday doubleheader, while five batters scored a run.

 
Up Next
The Phoenix returns home this weekend to play their final CAA series of the season against UNCW. First pitch against the Seahawks on Thursday will be at 6 PM.