As the Elon University baseball team's offense stayed hot, freshman right-hander Mason Daniels turned in his longest outing of the year and the Phoenix completed its sweep of Hofstra University with a 10-5 victory on Sunday at Latham Park.
It's Elon's eighth straight Colonial Athletic Association victory, its longest conference winning streak since 2009.
Daniels went seven and one-third innings, making it past the dreaded sixth inning that's been hindering him, striking out six and allowing just two earned runs (five total) on five hits with three walks. He threw more pitches (109) than he's thrown all year, and he said he could feel it.
"The past few weeks, my command hasn't been too good," Daniels said. "Coach (Micah) Posey and Coach (Mike) Kennedy have been working with me on staying back and down to the plate. The command on my fastball was really there. It helped me keep hitters off balance and get the changeup in there."
Daniels is just the third freshman to start 10 or more games for Elon at the Division I level, and moved into fourth place among Elon Division I freshmen in strikeouts.
"On the mound, I thought Mason was really good today," Kennedy said. "He finally got through a sixth inning, and got him through the seventh. We thought we were going to get him through the eighth but we didn't make a play for him."
Meanwhile, the Phoenix offense continued its recent tear, posting at least 13 hits and 10 runs for the fourth time in five games during the last week.
Junior designated hitter C.J. Young led the charge, driving in three, as five others brought in runs. Senior infielder Tyler McVicar and freshman shortstop Ryne Ogren both homered for the Phoenix.
With the sweep, Elon moves to third place in the CAA with weekend series against University of Delaware and James Madison University left on the calendar.
"We want to keep winning, but we feel pretty good about it," Young said. "We need to win those series on the road — that'll be the toughest part."