Elon Travels To Charleston Southern

Both Squads Undefeated Entering Weekend Series

ELON – Elon baseball hits the road for the first time in 2026 to face Charleston Southern this weekend. Both teams enter Friday's series opener undefeated at 4-0.

The Phoenix and Buccaneers will close out a home-and-home series following a weekend series at Latham Park in 2025. Charleston Southern took all three games of that weekend series last season.

Games 1 and 3 of the series on Friday and Sunday will be streamed on ESPN+. Saturday's game will not be live streamed.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Game 1: Friday, Feb. 20 | 4 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | Live Stats

Game 2: Saturday, Feb. 21 | 1:30 p.m. ET | Live Stats

Game 3: Sunday, Feb. 22 | 1 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | Live Stats

PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS

Game 1: RHP Brian Strange (1-0, 2.08 ERA) vs. RHP Titus Von Kapff (0-0, 1.93 ERA)

Game 2: RHP Hank Krift (0-0, 6.00 ERA) vs. LHP Brady Bickett (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

Game 3: RHP Cole Hansen (1-0, 4.76 ERA) vs. LHP Matt Gallant (1-0, 7.36 ERA)

QUICK HITS

Elon has a 9-8 series advantage over Charleston Southern. After a more than 20-year hiatus, the two teams met in 2025 for the first time since 2003. Dating back to 1999, Elon has won six of the eight meetings played in North Charleston.

Vince Fattore was named CAA Player of the Week by the conference Monday morning after batting 4-for-5 (.800) in Elon's Opening Weekend sweep of Delaware. The outfielder backed up the award on Tuesday in a 6-4 win against Presbyterian, blasting a go-ahead three-run home run in the fifth inning.

Senior Jackson Alford has continued his 2025 form to start this season, batting a team-best .556 (5-for-9) through four games. Against Presbyterian, Alford finished 3-for-3 at the plate and added a pair of stolen bases. Alford has not been caught yet in three stolen base attempts.

Veteran pitchers Brian Strange and Cole Hansen made their first Phoenix starts on the mound against Delaware this past weekend. The two graduates both won their starts, with Strange going 4.1 innings with six strikeouts on Friday night and Hansen going 5.2 innings and allowing three runs in the finale.

Jake Hajdu picked up where he finished the 2025 season by having the best game of his career last Saturday night. Hajdu finished with a career-high six RBIs and his first career home run in Elon's 17-4 win in game three of the series. The sophomore currently leads the Phoenix in RBIs with eight.

The Phoenix lineup was filled with new faces on Opening Day. The top six spots in the lineup and the starting pitcher were all newcomers.

Following a 25-32 (13-14 CAA) season in 2025, Elon was picked in a tie for fourth in the 2026 CAA preseason poll.

Head coach Mike Kennedy enters his 30th season at the helm of Elon Baseball. After earning 25 wins last season, Kennedy has led the Phoenix to 24 seasons of 25 wins or more. Kennedy is a 2025-26 Elon Sports Hall of Fame inductee.

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Players Mentioned

#1 Jackson Alford: INF/UT; 5' 11"; Senior; R/R

#11 Vince Fattore: OF; 5' 11"; Redshirt Junior; R/R

#20 Jake Hajdu: INF; 5' 11"; Sophomore; R/R

#19 Brian Strange: RHP; 6' 1"; Graduate Student; R/R

#8 Cole Hansen: RHP; 6' 1"; Graduate Student; R/R

Players Mentioned

#1 Jackson Alford
: 5' 11"; Senior; R/R
: INF/UT

#11 Vince Fattore
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Junior; R/R
: OF

#20 Jake Hajdu
: 5' 11"; Sophomore; R/R
: INF

#19 Brian Strange
: 6' 1"; Graduate Student; R/R
: RHP

#8 Cole Hansen
: 6' 1"; Graduate Student; R/R
: RHP