Elon, N.C.- Kenny Mallory Jr. hit his third home run of the season on Friday night, but the late offense was not enough to see Elon overcome the UNCW Seahawks in game two of the series. The Elon Phoenix (24-29, 13-13 CAA) dropped their second straight game of the series to the UNCW Seahawks (31-22, 18-8 CAA) on Friday night, 11-5.
 
 
How It Happened

• The Seahawks got to the Phoenix early again with a leadoff home run in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead.
• UNCW struck again in the second inning for a pair of runs to take a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the second.
• Elon's offense got going with plate discipline and some help from the Seahawks' starter. Three straight walks to Mallory Jr., Vergantino and Szestowicki loaded the bases for Alec Welshans. Welshans was hit by a pitch which was then followed by Tank Yaghoubi getting plunked which brought in two runs. With a runner on third, a groundball to the shortstop from Charlie Granatell was enough to bring the tying runner home.
• UNCW immediately answered with three runs of their own in the top of the third to retake the lead.
• After a clean frame from both sides, an RBI single from Ryan Sprock brought in Yaghoubi from second to make the deficit 6-4.
• Once again, UNCW was able to answer with a pair of runs and took an 8-4 lead going into the bottom of the fifth.
• After a clean frame from Hank Krift and Itai Spinoza, Mallory Jr. gave the Phoenix offense a spark with a home run to left field to make it a 8-5 ballgame.
• In the top of the ninth, UNCW put the game away with three runs and took game two by the score of 11-5.

 
Notes and Stats

• Elon falls to 24-29 on the season and 13-13 in CAA play.  
• With a win tomorrow, the Phoenix would clinch a spot at the CAA Championships in Charleston, S.C. A win or a Delaware loss tonight against Campbell would clinch a spot in the CAA Championships.
• Ryan Sprock had an RBI single in the loss. The lone RBI gives Sprock 50 on the season and Sprock becomes the first Phoenix since Cam Devanney and Ty Adcock in 2019 to reach 50 RBI in a single season.  
• Kenny Mallory Jr. hit his third home run of the season in the loss. Mallory Jr. has ten home runs over his last two seasons at Elon after hitting seven last season.
• Tank Yaghoubi delivered a two-hit night at the top of the lineup for the Phoenix.
• Alex Duffey threw out two runners trying to steal on Friday night. Duffey has now thrown out 19 runners this season, the most since Alex Swim threw out the same number in 2012.
• Will Vergantino stole his 14^th base of the season in the loss. His 14 stolen bases are tied for the team lead with Mallory Jr.

 
Up Next
The Phoenix finishes its series with the Seahawks Saturday afternoon. First pitch against UNCW will be at 1 PM with Senior Day festivities beginning at 12:40 PM.