ELON – Facing a former conference foe in the University of Delaware on opening weekend, the Elon University baseball team brought out the bats to start the season off with a series sweep.

The Phoenix began with a 13-1 victory on opening day and swept Saturday's doubleheader 7-5 in the first game and 17-4 in the second.

Junior catcher Nate Sterling earned his first Division I after transferring from JUCO LA Valley College this fall, and quickly made an impact.

"Lot of emotions going on, first game of the season, everyone's super excited," Sterling said.

After senior second baseman Jackson Alford recorded the first Phoenix RBI of the season in the bottom of the second inning, Sterling extended the inning with his first Division I hit and two RBI. 

"I was down 0-2 early, felt like I was seeing it well but was still down, and I hit a fastball into right field," Sterling said. "Didn't try to do too much."

Sterling added another hit in the fourth inning and later drew a walk in the seventh, finishing his night 2-3 with a team-leading 3 RBI from the nine spot in the lineup.

Several other newcomers contributed offensively, as JUCO transfers Liam Richards, Jared Hall and Jose Mariano picked up their first DI hits and RBI alongside Sterling.

"Everyone in the lineup did their job," Sterling said. "Everyone did really well. [Coach Kennedy] always says, you're not going to hit home runs all the time. It takes a walk, hit by pitch, single, small ball is still a thing."

Sterling also made his presence known behind the plate, catching 24 innings in two days. A defense-first catcher, Sterling blocked nearly every ball in the dirt and caught his first runner stealing in the second game of the doubleheader.

He credited the pitching staff – which only gave up a single run in the first game – for making his job easier. 

"Pitching staff got ahead early, threw strikes," Sterling said. "People are going to get themselves out, baseball is hard. Coach Conroy did a great job of calling pitches and I'm really proud of my pitching staff."

Another defense-first player for the Phoenix who stood out this weekend was sophomore shortstop Jake Hajdu. He recorded his first hit of the season in game one of the doubleheader and added an RBI on a walk, but his day was only just getting started.

In the second game of the doubleheader, Hajdu put up a career-high six RBI. 

With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the first, Hajdu capitalized on the first pitch he saw, dropping a double into right field to clear the bases and put the Phoenix up 4-0.

In the bottom of the fourth innings, Hajdu hit his first collegiate home run, which he pulled over the left field wall.

"It was a two strike count, I just got a changeup elevated and put my best swing off," Hajdu said. "It was a great feeling."

Hajdu finished the second game 3-5 with three runs scored, and credited assistant coach Ryder Giles for his preparation at the plate.

"I was just getting my pitch to hit," Hajdu said. "[Coach Giles] does a great job with our scouting reports so i just listen to him and let the job be done."

Defensively, Hajdu was just as impactful. He contributed to 20 outs at shortstop, making a few diving plays in the gaps look easy.

"I take a lot of pride in it of course," Hajdu said. "The hard work pays off in-game. Coming out here early every day, taking ground balls. Not always hitting, but working on the routine stuff and getting it done."

Elon's pitching staff also delivered a dominant opening weekend performance. Over the course of three games, Phoenix pitchers allowed just 10 runs, while the offense put up 37 total runs. Twelve Elon pitchers combined for 26 strikeouts and only nine walks over the series.

"They did a great job," Hajdu said. "Coming out the first weekend is hard, throwing inside for a long time could have affected them but it didn't. They just came out and competed."

The Phoenix will return to Latham Park on Tuesday to face Presbyterian at 4 p.m. After Elon commanded a 16-3 win the last time the two teams saw one another, the Phoenix will look to continue its offensive momentum.

"We've just got to keep the foot on the gas, put our trust within one another and put it all out on the field," Hajdu said.
 

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'Rising Phoenix' is a student-led initiative to cover Elon Athletics. Through innovative content creation and storytelling, Elon University students will have the opportunity to highlight the moments, people and events that make an impact, leveraging the athletic department's various web and social media platforms for distribution. Follow Rising Phoenix on X (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Sydney Spencer at sspencer9@elon.edu.

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