GAME NOTES

2012 VIEWBOOK

LIVE STATS

ELON, N.C. -- Elon will open its 2012 baseball season by playing host to both Akron and George Mason at Latham Park this weekend.  The first pitch of the new year is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon when the Phoenix takes on the Zips. 

Prior to the start of the season, the Phoenix will host a Meet the Phoenix dinner at The Cutting Board in Burlington, N.C. beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday night (Feb. 16).  For $15 per person, fans can enjoy dinner with the team, hear from the coaching staff and players and have the opportunity to win door prizes.  All those in attendance will also receive vouchers for a free ticket to each of the team's first four home games over the opening weekend of play (Feb. 17-19).

The weekend's full schedule is below:

Friday, Feb. 17
2 p.m. - Elon vs. Akron
5 p.m. - George Mason vs. Appalachian State

Saturday, Feb. 18
11 a.m. - Elon vs. George Mason
2 p.m. - Elon vs. Akron
5 p.m. - Akron vs. Appalachian State

Sunday, Feb. 19
12 p.m. - Appalachian State vs. Akron
3 p.m. - Elon vs. George Mason

Probable Pitching Matchups
Friday: EU - RHP Kyle Webb (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. UA - RHP Andrew Brown (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Saturday: EU - LHP Dylan Clark (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. GMU - RHP A.J. Johnson (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
EU - RHP David Whitehead (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. UA - RHP Myles McVeigh (0-0, 0-00 ERA)
Sunday: EU - LHP Spencer Medick (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. GMU - RHP Ryan Pfaeffle (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

In-Game Chat
If you can not be at any of the Phoenix’s road games, join in with Elon’s free interactive live online chat.  Just click on the link on the Elon baseball home page.

Phoenix BaseBLOG
Fans of Elon baseball can get an inside look at the team this year thanks to a blog being written by junior outfielder Niko Fraser.  The blog can be found at www.elonbaseball.wordpress.com or by clicking the link at the top of the Elon baseball home page at elonphoenix.com.

Scouting Akron
The Zips went 16-37 overall last year, including a 7-20 mark in the Mid-American Conference.  Senior third baseman Sam Watkins is the top returning hitter as he batted .280 with eight doubles and six homers in 2011.  Senior righty Andrew Brown returns to lead the pitching staff.  Brown was 4-7 with a 2.97 ERA and 70 strike outs in 103.0 innings last year.

Akron is led by first-year head coach Rick Rembielak.  Rembielak owns a career record of 515-393-1 in 16 seasons.

Scouting George Mason
The Patriots posted a record of 21-32-1 overall in 2011.  GMU was 7-23 in Colonial Athletic Association play.  Senior third baseman Brig Tison is the team’s top returning hitter as he hit .368 with 44 runs scored and 16 doubles in 2011.  Senior righty A.J. Johnson made 11 starts last year and went 4-5 with a 5.35 ERA.  Sophomore lefty Jake Kalish had 17 appearances out of the pen, going 1-2 with a team-best 3.55 ERA.

Head coach Bill Brown has compiled a career record of 844-742-6 in his 30 years with George Mason.

Series Notes
Elon has faced both Akron and George Mason before.  Elon is 2-0 all-time against the Zips and sports a 3-2-1 mark against the Patriots.  Elon’s last contest against Akron came in 1970 with Elon claiming a 7-3 victory.  The last meeting between Elon and George Mason came in 1999 when the two teams squared off in a three-game set at Elon.  George Mason won the first two games of the series before the finale ended in a 7-7, 13-inning tie of Feb. 28.

Preseason Prognostications
Winners of three of the last four SoCon regular-season titles, Elon was once again predicted to finish near the top of the league standings.  In voting by SoCon media members, the Phoenix received two first-place votes and was picked to finish third in the 2012 standings.  The league’s coaches tabbed Elon fourth.

Winning Late
A year ago the Phoenix had a lot of late-inning drama.  In fact, Elon won 11 games in its final at bat during the 2011 season.

A Tough Road
Elon always plays a tough schedule and 2012 is no different.  The Phoenix will play 14 games against teams that participated in NCAA postseason play in 2011 including a three-game set at two-time defending national champion South Carolina.

Season Openers
In head coach Mike Kennedy’s 15 previous seasons, Elon has gone 8-7 in its season-opening games.

02.15.97 vs. Kutztown W, 8-5
02.07.98 vs. UNC Asheville W, 8-3 (7)
02.09.99 at Duke L, 6-12 (8)
02.09.00 at #20 North Carolina L, 0-14
02.02.01 at Duke W, 7-1
02.12.00 vs. Delaware State W, 12-2
02.08.03 vs. NC State L, 2-8
02.11.04 at Duke W, 9-8 (11)
02.05.05 vs. Wofford W, 12-2 (7)
02.10.06 at #14 South Carolina L, 4-5 (11)
02.09.07 vs. #7 Virginia* L, 3-10
02.22.08 vs. LaSalle W, 17-2
02.20.09 at Auburn L, 3-5
02.19.10 vs. Towson W, 8-2
02.18.11 at NC State L, 4-17
* played in Conway, S.C.

Tough to K
Last year catcher Alex Swim was one of the toughest hitters in the nation to strike out.  Swim fanned just 11 times in 236 at bats as a sophomore.  He ranked 12th nationally with one K in every 21.5 at bats.

Nationally Ranked
Elon concluded the 2011 season ranked among the national leaders in numerous statistical categories.  The team’s best standing came in stolen bases where the Phoenix finished 11th out of 292 NCAA Division I teams with 114 stolen bases.

Elon also finished in the top-30 in walks (22nd with 278), triples (25th with 21) and hit-by-pitch (27th with 79).

Preseason Accolades
Junior catcher Alex Swim and sophomore infielder Sebastian Gomez were both named preseason second-team All-SoCon. 

As a sophomore Swim hit .280 and was the only Phoenix player to start all 57 games.  He scored 33 runs, had 12 doubles, three triples and 33 RBI.  He was also successful on 11 of his 16 stolen base attempts.

Gomez collected Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America honors in 2010 after he led Elon with a .305 batting average.  He scored 30 runs, had six doubles, one triple, two home runs and 28 RBI.  Gomez swiped 14 bags and was only caught stealing once.  The smooth-fielding infielder posted a .974 fielding percentage.

30+
With its 36 victories in 2011, Elon has now recorded 12 consecutive seasons with at least 30 victories. Elon has won 33, 30, 34, 34, 31, 32, 45, 32, 44, 41, 38 and 36 games prior to this season.  The 45 victories in the 2006 campaign set a new school record.  In this time, the Phoenix has made five NCAA Division I Regional appearances (2002, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010).

The Phoenix has also now posted four consecutive 35+ win seasons.

Nail-biters
Under skipper Mike Kennedy, Elon has played 192 one-run games.  The maroon and gold has gone 99-93 in those contests.

1997 – 3-7
1998 – 5-6
1999 – 5-9
2000 – 5-9
2001 – 9-6
2002 – 3-9
2003 – 9-2
2004 – 6-9
2005 – 7-6
2006 – 10-5
2007 – 5-6
2008 – 9-5
2009 – 9-6
2010 – 5-3
2011 – 9-5

Extra, Extra
In 2011 Elon played two of the three longest games in program history.  The Phoenix earned a 7-5 victory over South Florida in the series finale on Feb. 27 that went 16 innings.  Elon then played a 20-inning contest in its first game of the 2011 SoCon Tournament, falling to Western Carolina by a 10-7 margin.

Elon’s Longest Known Extra Inning Games
05.25.11 vs. W. Carolina* 20 Inn. L, 7-10
05.01.09 vs. Wofford 18 Inn. W, 12-11
02.27.11 at USF 16 Inn. W, 7-5
03.05.95 vs. Carson-Newman 15 Inn. W, 12-11
04.24.19 vs. Davidson 13 Inn. W, 7-6
1965  Campbell 13 Inn. L, 2-3
02.27.79 at North Carolina 13 Inn. L, 6-9
02.28.99 vs. George Mason 13 Inn. T, 7-7
02.13.02 vs. UNCW 13 Inn. L, 11-13
• SoCon Tournament

Winning Streaks
Elon’s longest winning streak in 2011 was five games.  Below is a list of Elon’s 10 longest winning streaks.

17 – Dates unknown, 1940*
15 – April 5-unknown date, 1987
14 – March 9-March 30, 2002
12 – Dates unknown, 1972
12 – Dates unknown, 1985
12 – April 8-April 22, 1990
11 – Dates unknown, 1928
11 – March 18-April 3, 1989
10 – Dates unknown, 1950
10 – March 1-March 14, 1981
10 – February 22-March 4, 2008*
* To open season

Home Sweet Home
Traditionally, Elon has played well at Latham Park.  Under Mike Kennedy, Elon has posted a 280-117-1 (.705) record at its on-campus stadium.  Here as how Elon has fared year-by-year at Latham Park in that span:

1997: 17-6 (.739)
1998: 13-7 (.650)
1999: 13-15 (.464)
2000: 20-10 (.667)
2001: 17-8 (.680)
2002: 23-7 (.767)
2003: 18-5-1 (.771)
2004: 13-8 (.619)
2005: 20-6 (.769)
2006: 24-3 (.889)
2007: 19-13 (.594)
2008: 24-7 (.774)
2009: 22-3 (.880)
2010: 18-11 (.621)
2011: 19-8 (.704)
Total: 280-117-1 (.705)

Closing it Out
Since 2007 Elon has been very good at closing out games.  The Phoenix has gone a combined 160-13 (.925) when leading after seven innings and 165-13 (.927) when holding a lead following the eighth inning.

The State of North Carolina Baseball
Records Since 2000 (Elon’s 1st DI Year)
North Carolina 548-228-1
East Carolina 490-255-2
North Carolina St. 435-293
ELON 430-279-2
UNC Wilmington 399-254-1
Charlotte 389-277-2
Western Carolina 381-311-2
UNC Greensboro 364-310
Wake Forest 363-318-2
Duke 292-378-1
Appalachian St. 281-375-3
Campbell 279-374-1
North Carolina A&T 265-386
High Point 263-405-1
UNC Asheville 241-424
Gardner-Webb* 223-226-1
Davidson 234-371
N.C. Central^ 0-0
* Moved to DI in 2003; ^ Moved to DI in 2012