Elon Baseball Welcomes Campbell For CAA Residence Opening Sequence

Elon, N.C.- The Elon Phoenix (10-14, 0-3 CAA) return home following a four-game roadtrip and will open up their CAA home schedule against the Campbell Fighting Camels (17-7, 1-2). The game will mark the first home CAA series for the Phoenix and road CAA series for the Camels.
 
This weekend’s series marks the first time that the schools will meet for a three-game weekend series. Elon has won seven of the last ten meetings between the Phoenix and the Camels, all in midweek clashes.
 
Game 1: Friday, 6:00 PM
Game 2: Saturday, 4:00 PM
Game 3: Sunday, 1:00 PM

HOW TO FOLLOW

• This weekend’s games will be streamed on FloBaseball behind a paid subscription.
• For radio coverage, download the Varsity Network App or you can reach by CLICKING HERE. The dugout show with host Taylor Durham begins 15 minutes prior to first pitch.  
• Live stats can be reached by CLICKING HERE. All three games can be reached by clicking the link. 
• Follow live updates on the Elon Baseball X account @ElonBaseball.

 
CAMPBELL SERIES HISTORY
 

• Elon leads the all-time series with Campbell, 31-23.  
• Elon and Campbell first played back in 1962 in an 11-2 victory for Elon.
• The Phoenix and Camels will meet for the first time in a three-game weekend series format this weekend.
• The Phoenix and Camels did not play from 2020-2022 but renewed the series with two games last year featuring a home game for both schools.
• The home team won both matchups with Elon defeating Campbell, 6-5 at Latham Park. Campbell was ranked ninth at the time, so the victory gave the Phoenix their second top-10 win at home of the 2023 season.
• In the 6-5 win, Elon used three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to pull ahead. Tanner Holliman homered to tie the game at five, then Ryan Sprock walked to bring in the go ahead run. Sam Nomura tossed two innings and struck out four in the victory.
• Campbell defeated Elon in Elon’s midweek finale. Phoenix catcher Parker Haskin put together a three-hit day while Kenny Mallory Jr. put together a two-hit day in the loss.
• Mike Kennedy has a career record of 16-8 against Campbell with the first matchup being a 5-0 win for the Phoenix in 1998 at Latham Park.

 
SCOUTING CAMPBELL

• Campbell has one of the top hitting cores in the country and enters Latham Park with a 17-7, 1-2 CAA record.
• The Camels look to add to their CAA win total following a pair of losses to the Delaware Blue Hens at Jim Perry Stadium this past weekend.
• To open the season, the Orioles won three straight games over top-25 opponents, UC Santa Barbara, and East Carolina.
• Before losing three out of four coming into the weekend series, Campbell won eight games in a row and reached as high as #22 in the D1 Baseball poll. The winning streak included a weekend sweep over Valparaiso.
• The Camels have a 2-3 record away from Buies Creek coming into the series.
• Grant Knipp has emerged as one of the top hitters in college baseball and is dominating. With a .455 average and a 1.156 slugging percentage, Knipp has made a statement to be the best hitting catcher in the country.
• His 15 homers are second in the nation, and he leads the country in home runs per game with 0.68 home runs per game. The 40 runs driven in lead the CAA.
• Lawson Harrill is also batting an even .400 average. His nine doubles lead the club and also is in the double-digit homer club with ten.
• Zach Sabers heads the weekend rotation for the Camels with a 5.52 ERA. He has struck out 23 batters and walked 13. The staff has allowed a 6.46 ERA and recorded eight saves. Grant Knipp has also tossed 5.2 innings to start the year and has just a 1.59 ERA.
• Justin Haire is in his 10^th season at the helm of the program but has been a member of the Campbell coaching staff since 2008. He has a career record of 303-199 as head coach and has a 3-4 career record against Elon with a 1-3 record at Latham Park.

 
GRANATELL EARNS FIRST CAA PLAYER OF THE WEEK

• Junior outfielder Charlie Granatell was named the CAA Player of the Week by the conference last month. Granatell earns his first CAA Player of the Week award following a single CAA Rookie of the Week award and being named to the CAA All-Rookie Team in 2022.
• Granatell finished the opening weekend against Navy batting 10-for-15 (.667). The ten hits were the most hits in a series for Granatell in his career.
• Granatell produced the second four-hit game of his career on Saturday and secured two doubles on Sunday. The Franklin Lakes, N.J. native picked up a pair of two-baggers in the same game for the fourth time in his career.

 
ELON IN THE RANKINGS

• The Phoenix have had a hot start to the season in the batter’s box. The Phoenix rank fifth in the CAA as a team in hits with 234 through 24 games.
• Elon ranks sixth in the CAA and top-120 nationally in runs scored and rank exactly 125th in the nation with 7.0 runs per game.
• The longball has been a catalyst for the Phoenix offense. The Phoenix ranks fifth in the CAA in home runs and 82nd nationally.
• Kenny Mallory Jr. Is 98th in the nation in batting average with a .393 clip. Mallory’s batting average ranks seventh in the CAA. His OBP also ranks 72nd nationally at .514.
• Charlie Granatell continues to remain at the top of the NCAA in doubles with 11. He is 20th in the nation in doubles while being seventh in the CAA in doubles per game.
• Justin Mitrovich is one of the top sophomores in the country is strikeouts. He is tied for second among sophomores in strikeouts and ranks 13th in the NCAA with 50 punchouts. Mitrovich’s strikeouts per nine and WHIP both rank top-100 nationally. 

               
ELON WELCOMES IMPACT TRANSFERS

• Head coach Mike Kennedy and the Elon baseball program have announced the arrival of eight transfers to booster the 2024 Elon baseball roster.
• The eight transfers coming into the program include four pitchers, one catcher, two outfielders and one two-way player. Two of the incoming players hail from North Carolina “Big Four” schools, Duke and UNC. Two players join the Phoenix following stints at the JUCO level and one joins from Division III.
• A pair of players will join Elon following break out seasons and careers in the CAA. Tank Yaghoubi will join the Phoenix after a standout freshman season at William & Mary while Shane Paradine joins the program following four years at Stony Brook. 
• Paradine has been a spark for the Phoenix at first base. He finished these past two weeks batting .389 over five games against Minnesota, ECU, and UNCW.

 
 
ELON IN THE PROS                                                  

• Elon has seen a number of players be called up to the Big Leagues within the past two seasons, including a pair of teammates from the 2019 CAA Regular Season Championship team. George Kirby and Ty Adcock currently both representing the Seattle Mariners.
• Kirby became Elon’s first baseball player to represent his club at the MLB All-Star game since Tom Brewer was selected during the 1956 season. Kirby was dominate for Seattle during the 2023 season, finishing with 13 wins for the Mariners.
• The Rye, N.Y. native finished the season with the 13th lowest ERA in the majors at just 3.35, finished third in the MLB in WHIP at 1.04. Kirby has become known for his ability to not walk batters with a walks per nine inning rate of just 0.9. This lead the majors and was the lowest walks per nine in the major leagues since Clayton Kershaw finished the season with a 0.8 rate in 2016.
• The Phoenix also features two relievers in the Bigs with John Brebbia and Ty Adcock. Adcock made his debut for the Mariners on June 12, 2023, and made nine appearances out of the bullpen before allowing a run.
• Brebbia has been the majors for six seasons after making his debut with St.Louis in 2017. Brebbia lead the majors in appearances during the 2022 season with 76 appearances featuring 11 starts for the San Francisco Giants.

 
JUSTIN MITROVICH CLIMBS THE HILL       

• Starter Justin Mitrovich returns to the Phoenix following an outstanding freshman campaign in the maroon & gold.
• Mitrovich yielded another strong performance against Minnesota. Mitrovich allowed just one unearned run against the Golden Gophers while striking out eight and walking just two.
• His money pitch has been the changeup. Entering this weekend, Mitrovich has the fifth highest whiff rate in the country on the changeup producing a whiff rate at 55%.
• The Yardley, Pa. native claimed his second win of the season against UMass. Mitrovich went six innings on the mound earning the win and struck out ten batters while surrendering just three hits to the Minutemen.
• The right-hander put in another stunning performance against the NJIT Highlanders. Mitrovich once again went seven innings and struck out a career-high 11 batters on just 91 pitches. His game score of 81 ranked as the sixth highest in college baseball Friday night,
• Mitrovich started the 2024 season on a very high note. Against Navy, the right-hander matched career highs to that point, in innings and strikeouts, fanning nine batters in seven innings of work. He earned his first win of the campaign, leading Elon to a 10-2 victory over the Midshipmen.
• During his freshman campaign, Mitrovich finished with a record of 7-4 in 14 starts and an ERA of 3.68. He finished in the top-10 among CAA pitchers in nine different categories and finished in the top-five in wins, runs allowed, earned runs allowed, and home runs allowed. The freshman finished with 66 strikeouts, ranked second among freshman in the league. His seven wins were tied for third in the CAA.
• Mitrovich was one of three CAA freshman to make both D1 Baseball and Baseball America lists. The Yardley, P.A. native was joined by Northeastern freshmen Aiven Cabral and Cam Maldonado as CAA first years to be mentioned to both teams. The right-hander joins Alex Iadisernia and Shea Sprague as freshman all-Americans. This marks three straight years where the Phoenix have had a freshman all-American.
• The sophomore earned a Preseason All-CAA selection as a starter for the 2024 season. This marks the seventh consecutive season that the Phoenix have produced a preseason All-CAA starting pitcher.
• The Phoenix have outscored opponents by 12 runs on the season when Mitrovich starts on the mound.

 
BRINGING THE LUMBER

• The Phoenix put together two walk-off victories in back-to-back home games. Elon walked off game three against UMass and game one against Minnesota thanks to singles from Will Vergantino and Shane Paradine.
• Elon scored six runs in the seventh inning against Minnesota earlier this month. The six runs mark the 11^th time the Phoenix have scored four-plus runs in an inning this season.
• After scoring 11 runs against Longwood, Elon registered their fifth game of the season with double-digit runs. The Phoenix reached 100 runs in their 12^th game of the season, while in 2023 it took the Phoenix until the 18^th game to reach that number.
• The Phoenix have clubbed five grand slams in non-conference play. Elon averages right at one grand slam every five games.
• Against NJIT, the Phoenix scored a Latham Park record with 27 runs against the Highlanders. The 27 came in large part due to a 12-run seventh inning that featured grand slams from both Kenny Mallory Jr. and Will Vergantino.
• Elon’s seven runs against the Tar Heels were the most runs scored by a Phoenix squad against Carolina since May of 2010.
• Against Navy, the Elon bats caught fire all three days with the 42 hits being the most to open a season since 2015.
• Elon’s 30 runs are the most in an opening series since the Phoenix hung 34 runs on Penn State to open the 2015 campaign.
• Elon brings back Ryan Sprock and Charlie Granatell who finished in the top 5 on the team in qualified batting average a season ago.
• Connor Offshack returns for the Phoenix following a .310 batting average season a year ago. Offshack made 27 starts and finished the season with 11 extra-base hits and 17 RBI. 

 

KENNEDY EYES HISTORY                

• Elon’s head coach is just five wins away from his 850th win as the skipper of the Elon baseball program. If Coach Mike Kennedy surpasses 860 wins this season, he will enter a pantheonic list of coaches and enter the list of the top 100 winningest coaches in the history of Division I college baseball.
• The program’s all-time winningest coach, he currently owns an all-time record of 845-665-3 (.560). The skipper is in his 28th season with the maroon and gold. Against UNCG this season, Kennedy managed his 1,500^th game with the Phoenix, making him the longest tenured and winningest coach in Elon athletics.

 
 
PHOENIX SELECTS TEAM CAPTAINS FOR 2024  

• Connor Offshack and Liam Dabagian were selected as team captains for the 2024 season, voted by their teammates.
• “We are excited to name both Liam Dabagian and Connor Offshack our team captains for the 2024 season. These two have been selected by their teammates and I believe that shows how they are respected in the clubhouse. They both have strong character and represent Elon baseball very well on and off the field. “

 
UP NEXT

• Elon welcomes Wofford to Latham Park for a Wednesday night matchup. First pitch with the Terriers will be at 6 pm.