ELON, N.C. – Behind a combined no-hitter in the opening game, the Elon University softball team clinched a spot for the Colonial Athletic Association Softball Championships with a doubleheader split versus College of Charleston on Saturday, April 29. The Phoenix won the first game, 8-0, before falling in the second game, 9-1.
 
McKenna McCard and Kaitlin King combined to pitch a no-hitter for the Phoenix (19-24, 12-7 CAA) in the first game. It was the first no-hit, non-perfect game for the maroon and gold since 2011. Elon also punched its ticket to the CAA postseason for the fourth consecutive season with its opening game win over the Cougars (18-29, 10-10 CAA) on Senior Day.
 
Game One: Elon 8, Charleston 0
The Phoenix took the lead early in the first inning of the opening game. Elon loaded the bases with no outs after Allee Seering reached on an infield single, but the Cougars induced the first out on a fielder's choice on the next at bat. The Phoenix still capitalized with the bags full on a Carley Davis single through the left side, scoring Seering and Drew Menscer. A wild pitch by Charleston led to Elon plating another run to move ahead 3-0.
 
Elon put ducks on the pond again in the bottom of the third. Davis drew a free pass that loaded the bases before Kaitlyn Wells earned another walk to enable the fourth run of the contest for the Phoenix. Bella Devesa added the second run of the frame on a groundout with the RBI pushing Claudia Penny across the dish and giving Elon a 5-0 advantage.
 
Devesa added her second RBI of the game in the bottom of the fifth. The senior drove in Kaitlyn Wells, who led off the inning with a double. Devesa herself would score on an RBI from Payton Swart, putting the Phoenix one run away from earning the victory via run-rule.
 
King took over for McCard in the top of the sixth with the senior retiring the side on a fly out and a pair of strikeouts to keep the no-hitter intact. That put the Phoenix offense back at the plate going into the home half of the frame.
 
Menscer opened with a bunt single, but was in danger of being stranded after the next two batters were retired on strikeouts. Elon stayed alive however as pinch hitter Mary Moss Wirt drew a walk to join Menscer on the bases before the pair moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Another wild pitch allowed Menscer to score the game-clinching run to give the Phoenix an 8-0 win.
 
McCard improved to 7-4 with the win in the circle for the Phoenix. The sophomore tossed 5.0 innings and tied a season-high with six strikeouts while walking two. King added her clean inning with two strikeouts as the pair gave the Phoenix its first no-hitter since April 7, 2011 versus North Carolina Central.
 
Game Two: Charleston 9, Elon 1
The Cougars took advantage of a Phoenix error to take the early lead in the start of game two. Charleston's Aniz Roman scored the first run of the game as an errant throw on an attempted double play got away from the Phoenix defense while a sac fly scored the second run of the frame to put Elon down 2-0.
 
Charleston doubled its lead in the top of the third. Elon retired the first two batters of the inning, but the Cougars stayed alive on a two-out single by Karlee Hughes. That allowed Malaka Belser to crush a two-run home run to left center to give the Cougars a 4-0 cushion.
 
Runs scored in the fifth and sixth innings gave the Cougars a 9-0 lead and put the Phoenix in danger of being run-ruled going to the bottom of the sixth. Elon battled to start the inning as Seering led off with a single to left and was joined on the bases by Penny on an error. After the next two batters were retired, Devesa drove in Seering on a single to left field for Elon's first run of the day. The Cougars however were able to minimize the damage and struck out the next batter to close out the game with the 9-1 win.
 
Elon's offense was held to five hits in game two with Seering and Devesa combining for four of those. Penny was the other Phoenix player with a base hit, recording her 16^th double of the season which puts her in a tie for the fifth-best performance in a single-season in school history.
 
On Deck
Both teams are scheduled to be back on the diamond tomorrow, April 30, for the rubber match. Opening pitch is set for 1 p.m.