ELON – A career-high performance in the circle from junior Anna Dew and three total home runs powered the Elon softball team to a doubleheader split against Mount St. Mary's on Thursday in the opening day of the Phoenix Invitational.
 
Elon (1-5) dropped the opener, 9-5, before responding with a 12-1 run-rule victory in six innings over the Mountaineers (1-1).
 
Game 1: Mount St. Mary's 9, Elon 5
Mount St. Mary's struck early, scoring six runs in the top of the first inning behind a pair of singles, a Phoenix error and a three-run home run to take a 6-0 lead.
 
The Mountaineers added another run in the second to stretch the advantage to 7-0 before Elon answered in the bottom half. The Phoenix loaded the bases with no outs for Mary Moss Wirt, who worked a 1-0 count before launching a grand slam over the left-field fence to put Elon on the board. The Phoenix trailed 7-4 after two innings.
 
Elon threatened again in the fourth, loading the bases with two outs, but a strikeout ended the frame.
 
Mount St. Mary's plated two insurance runs in the fifth to make it 9-4. Wirt added her fifth RBI of the game in the bottom half with a sacrifice fly to center field, trimming the deficit to 9-5. That would be as close as Elon would get, as the Phoenix managed just one hit over the final two innings.
 
Wirt's grand slam marked the first home run of her career, and her five RBI set a new career high. Elon finished with six hits and seven walks while striking out three times.
 
Lia Miller worked 7.0 innings in the circle, striking out five while allowing two earned runs in relief.
 
Game Two: Elon 12, Mount St. Mary's 1 (6)
Mount St. Mary's scored first in the nightcap, plating a run on a sacrifice fly in the top of the second to take a 1-0 lead.
 
Elon responded with four runs in the bottom of the third to seize control. Peyton Fitzpatrick reached on an error and later scored to tie the game before Reili Gardner replaced her on the base paths on the error. After Greta Hessenthaler gave the Phoenix a pair on her single, she and Gardner and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt. Teagan Baulsir then delivered a two-out, two-RBI double to right center to put Elon up 3-1. Payton Swart followed with an RBI double to drive in Baulsir and to give the Phoenix a 4-1 advantage.
 
Fitzpatrick extended the lead in the fourth, swinging at the first pitch she saw and sending it over the fence for her first career home run to make it 5-1.
 
Elon added another run in the fifth after Chloe Hatzopoulos drew a leadoff walk and was replaced by Julia Tamulski as a pinch runner. Later in the inning, Christina Piotrowski lifted a deep fly ball to right in foul territory, allowing Tamulski to score from second and push the lead to 6-1.
 
The Phoenix broke the game open in the sixth with six runs. Jenna Klein and Tamulski each drove in a run before Swart capped the scoring with Elon's second grand slam of the day, securing the 12-1 run-rule victory.
 
Dew was dominant in the circle, striking out a career-high 10 batters in a complete-game effort. She allowed five hits and one run while improving to 1-1 on the season.
 
Swart went 2-for-5 with a career-high five RBI to lead the offense, while Baulsir added two RBI. Elon finished with seven hits in the contest.
 
On Deck
Elon continues play in the Phoenix Invitational on Friday, hosting Manhattan at 3 p.m.