Box Score

CULLOWHEE, N.C. -- Seth Canipe drilled an 0-1 pitch from Brandon Johnson over the left field wall with one out in the top of the ninth inning to break a 5-5 tie and send the visiting Elon Phoenix to its fifth win in its final at bat of the season, a 6-5 decision over the Western Carolina Catamounts on Friday afternoon.

The win was Elon's ninth in the last 11 meetings against Western Carolina and improved the Phoenix to 13-6 overall and 4-0 in Southern Conference play this season.  The Catamounts dropped to 8-8, 0-4 on the year.

With the game scoreless in the bottom of the third, Cameron Dullnig doubled down the right field line to start the inning.  Dullnig took third on a ground out before scoring on Julian Riding's bunt single as the Catamounts took a 1-0 lead.  After Matt Johns reached on a walk, Stephen Notaro singled through the left side, but Elon ended the inning when Jake Luce gunned down Ridings at the plate.

Elon came right back to tie the game up in the fourth.  Alex Swim got things going with a single to left-center.  After Neal Pritchard walked, Ryan Kinsella put down a perfect sacrifice bunt to advance both runners.  Grant McCoury followed with a sacrifice fly to right to plate Swim to tie the game.

Western Carolina went back on top with a couple of runs in the fifth.  Adam Martin's single was followed up by a hit-and-run single off the bat of Tyler White to put runners on the corners.  Aaron Attaway's slow bouncer to short erased White, but scored Martin to make it 2-1.  With Attaway on second with two outs, Austin Schultz bounced a single up the middle to drive home the third WCU run of the day.

With one down in the top of the fifth, Harry Austin drew a walk before going to second on Luce's bunt single.  Niko Fraser drilled a 1-0 pitch well over the fence in right for a three-run homer to put Elon up 4-3.  The blast was the second home run of Fraser's career.  Pritchard followed with a double to left-center before scoring on a Catamount error on a Kinsella fly ball.

Johns got one back for WCU in the bottom half with a solo homer to center.

Back-to-back doubles from Ridings and Ross Heffley to start the seventh tied the game at five.  Western then loaded the bases after Johns was hit with a 3-2 pitch and, after a sac bunt, Martin was walked intentionally.  White drove a ball to center that was snared by Austin who fired back into second to double up Johns to end the inning with the game tied at five.

After the first hitter of the ninth was retired, Canipe turned on an 0-1 pitch and lifted it over the big fence in left field to put Elon back on top 6-5.  The shot was Canipe's third homer of the season.

John Brebbia (3-0) picked up the victory after he gave up one run on three hits in two innings of relief work.  Mitch Conner earned his second save of the year with a scoreless ninth.  Elon starter Kyle Webb tossed six innings, allowing four runs on 10 hits while striking out four.

Johnson (3-2) took the loss after he surrendered a run on two hits in 1.2 innings. 

The top four hitters in Elon's line-up – Luce, Fraser, Swim and Pritchard – combined to go 7-for-17 with four runs scored and three RBI.  Luce, Fraser and Pritchard all tallied two-hit performances at the plate.

Western Carolina pounded out 14 hits, including three from Ridings and two by the quartet of Schultz, Heffley, Martin and White.

Elon and WCU will face off in game two of this league series at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.