The Elon University baseball team lost against the Stony Brook Seawolves, 9-4, extending its losing streak to three games. This loss puts the Phoenix 12-6 in the Colonial Athletic Association and 23-14 on the season.
The Phoenix met the Seawolves on an unseasonably cool day at Latham Park. The teams have only met once before in 2016, in which the Phoenix fell short to the Seawolves, 1-0. This is the first meeting between Elon and Stony Brook with both teams being members of the CAA.
A missed grounder to right field resulted in the Seawolves to jump out to an early first inning lead. A second run quickly followed, scored by Stony Brook senior catcher Shane Paradine. By the time the Phoenix secured its first three outs the Seawolves led 4-0.
Throughout the game, the Phoenix struggled to rise to the strength of the Seawolves offense. Head coach Mike Kennedy said that momentum in the start of the game was what stood out to him about tonight’s loss.
“We just didn’t give ourselves a chance right out of the gate,” Kennedy said.
After a few tough losses, first to William & Mary last weekend and second to Gardner-Webb University on Wednesday, Kennedy said the team has had a difficult time keeping a positive attitude in the dugout.
“Now the feeling is ‘Oh Lord, here we go again,’” Kennedy said. “We’ve got to get over that. We play good baseball. We’ve taken a few on the chin here in the last few days.”
Despite the nearly 10 hours and 581 miles between Stony Brook and Elon, Seawolves fans were out in full force at Latham Park, and heading into the second inning, got praise from the stands after some quick offense and a stolen base.
The bottom of the third was when Elon finally saw its first run of the game. The Phoenix score was run in by sophomore right fielder Kenny Mallory Jr.
While the Phoenix seemed to gain momentum in the fourth inning, with the team’s first home run of the night produced by fifth year designated hitter Luke Stephenson, the success was short lived, as the inning ended shortly after. The Phoenix cut the deficit in half, but the Seawolves were far from done.
Redshirt junior catcher Parker Haskin said the momentum from the Seawolves was tough to compete with.
“They just put together some good at bats,” Haskin said. “We didn’t play great.”
The fifth inning was a quick one for the Phoenix and the Seawolves put two runs on the board. Both teams held one another off in the sixth, with no runs, but the seventh inning saw action from both teams. Stony Brook scored two runs and Elon saw its second home run of the evening by junior center fielder Justin Cassella, a two-run shot scoring Haskin, his seventh of the season.
Into the eighth inning the Seawolves pitching began to falter, but the defense remained strong and Elon struggled to keep the momentum from the seventh inning going. By the end of the game, the Seawolves toppled the Phoenix, 9-4.
The teams will face off tomorrow at 7 p.m. rather than the original noon first pitch due to a rainy forecast.
“They came ready to play,” Haskin said. “We have to bounce back these next few days and play some good baseball to get back in.”