THE PENDULUM
SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2009 // PAGE 15
Harrilchak adjusting well to baseball life after Elon
Pam Richter
Summer Editor
Cory Harrilchak was grinning from ear-to-
ear as a handful of fans approached him for
autographs after a game earlier this month
at Burlington Athletic Stadium. Harrilchak, a
former Elon baseball player, was selected by
the Atlanta Braves in the 14th round of the June
2009 MLB draft. He currently plays with the
Danville Braves, the Braves' rookie level minor
league affiliate.
Harrilchak, primarily an outfielder with
the Braves, returned to Elon's backyard for
the first time when the Braves played against
the Burlington Royals in mid-July. Tonight, he
is back in Burlington as the Braves are in the
midst of their second series of the season in
Burlington.
“I feel comfortable here,” Harrilchak said in
reference to playing down the road from his
alma matter.
A Cary, N.C., native Harrilchak was excited
his friends and family could watch him play.
“They’ve been watching me play for years, so
it’s no different,” he said. “It’s pretty cool now
that I’m playing pro ball and they are still able
to come watch me.”
With the Braves this season he is batting .340
with 22 RBls and 12 walks. He is also part of a
team that is in first place in the East division
of the Appalachian League by two and a half
games.
For Harrilchak, he said the minor leagues
aren’t too much different than college ball.
“It’s a little adjustment getting used to the
wooden bat,” he said. “I’d also say it’s slightly
a better step up in pitching. Other than that it's
the same game.”
Last season with the Phoenix Harrilchak
batted .336, hit 18 doubles and was a First Team
All-Southern Conference pick by the league
coaches. He also scored a program-record 79
runs.
“My coaches (in Danville) are constantly
preaching things that I have been taught the
past two years,” Harrilchak said. “It's not much
of a difference as the coaching goes. I'm used
to everyone and everything being done certain
ways. My coaches prepared me very well for
this.”
For the Elon alumnus, he has one specific
goal in mind during his time in the minor
leagues.
“Play great and move up,” Harrilchak said as
he continued to sign autographs for fans, with
a grin on his face.
FILE PHOTO
Cory Harrilchak runs to third base in a game against LaSalle University in the 2009 season.
Harrilchak is adjusting well to minor league baseball with the Danville Braves.
Phoenix looks to younger players for success
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Freshman guard Ali Ford dribbles the ball in the North Carolina East-West All-Star game on July 20. Ford finished
with a game-high 20 points and was named the MVP of the game.
Pam Richter
Summer Editor
For Kelsey Evans, an incoming
freshman with the Elon women's
basketball team, the future with the
team is uncertain. E\ans originally
signed with Western Carolina, but
switched to Elon after a coaching
change at Western Carolina.
Former Western Carolina head coach
Kellie Harper left the school to become
the head coach at North Carolina State
and Evans decidcd to change her college
choice and attend Elon.
“It's just one of those things that
fell in our lap," Elon head coach Karen
Barefoot said. “We didn't expect it. She's
a great kid, a tremendous student and a
great basketball player. It's hard to put
in words the type of person she is.”
Evans is currently enrolled in
summer classes at Elon, but W'estern
Carolina hasn’t fully released her yet.
She may need to sit out the 2009-2010
season because of eligibility rules.
A decision on Evans’ future should
be made within the next week or so.
Barefoot said. The coach also said she
has “nothing to do with it” and the
decision is being talked about between
Western Carolina, Evans and her
family.
Evans is a native of Raleigh, N.C. and
played at Wakefield High School last
season. During four years at Wakefield
Evans helped her team to a 108-8 overall
record. As a senior she averaged IS..';
points and 10 rebounds per game.
“She’s one of those players, if
you watch her play, she does all the
dirty work," Barefoot said. “She grabs
rebounds. She can defend. She does a
lot of little things that I think will help
us be a better ball club."
Eight Elon football players to
preaseason All-SoCon teams
Eight Elon football players were
named to the Preseason All-Southern
Conference teams. The team was
selected to finish third in the
Southern Conference.
Senior offensive lineman David
Harrison, wide receiver senior
Terrell Hudgins, senior defensive
lineman Eric Ludwig, sophomore
linebacker Joshua Jones and senior
defensive lineman Karlos Sullivan
were named to the first team.
Second team honors were earned
by junior Scott Riddle, Junior
running back Brandom Newsome
and junior defensive lineman
Brandon Ward.
After the 2008 season, six of
those players earned honrs from the
SoCon league’s coaches.
The Phoenix opens it's season
at 7 p.m. Sept. 5 against Davidson
Incoming freshman earns MVP at AH
Star Game
Elon women's basketball incoming
freshman Ali Ford was the MVP at the
North Carolina East-West All-Star game
on July 20. She scored 20 points, which
led all scorers, and helped the West
Team to a 87-77 victory.
“Ali can score. She’s a great scorer,
and has tremendous vision,” Barefoot
said. “She can shoot and she can deliver.
She's a point guard that can do it all.”
College at Rhodes Stadium.
Elon alum caddies for British Open
winner
Frank Williams, a 1979 Elon
graduate, caddied for Stewart Cink in
the British Open earlier this month.
Williams played baseball at Elon
from 1977-1979. He has caddied for
Cink for 11 years.
In his career Williams also
caddied for Don Reese, Davis Love
III, Curtis Strange, Scott Simpson
and John Cook.
USA wins 2009 World Baseball
Challenge
The USA Baseball National Team
(Collegiate) won the final game of the
2009 World Baseball Challenge on
Sunday in British Columbia, Canada.
Elon baseball head coach Mike
Kennedy was the team's pitching
coach.
Freshman Eleisha Hairston and
Kelsey Evans also represented the
Phoenix in the game. Hairston played
with Ford on the West team, while Evans
played on the East team.
These players are part of Barefoot’s
nationally-ranked recruiting class.
“It's going to be exciting and have
a different look,” Barefoot said. “We’ll
still be young. A fan told me the other
day on the phone that we’re going to be
diaper dandies.”
The pitching staff had a 2.16 ERA
in 24 games this summer. The staff
gave up 51 earned runs on 118 hits.
The team finished the season
with a 19-5 overall record.
Engel releases the men and
women's Cross Country schedule
Elon men and women’s cross
country Coach Christine Engel
relased the schedule for both teams
this month.
Elon will host the first-ever Elon
Invitational on Sept. 12.
The Phoenix will host the
Southern Conferecne Championships
on October 12.
The team begins it’s season Sept.
4 at the Wake Forest Relays.
The NCAA Regional will be held
in Louisville, Ky. and the NCAA
Championship will be held Nov. 23.
Athletic department
announces changes
to staff
Elon Director of Athletics Dave
Blank announced Erica Madden
Roberson as the director of media
relations for athletics. Roberson will
become the primary media contact
for the Phoenix men and women's
soccer, men’s basketball and men
and women’s tennis teams.
This hire begins the transition
of the media relations department
from the previous sports information
department.
Roberson, graduated from
Indiana University in 2002 with
a Bachelor of Science in Sports
Communications,
While an undergraduate student
at Indiana Roberson was the media
contact for five teams.
She was an assistant Sports
Information Director at Davidson
College from 2002 until 2005.
After working at Davidson,
she was the Assistant Sports
Information Director at Furman
University from 2006 to 2007 and
in 2009.
Blank also announced several
promotions within the Elon Athletic
Department,
Brian Tracy is promoted
associate athletic director for
external affairs; Sarah Thomas is
now director of community relations
and special events; Megan Donald
is director of Web site operations;
Michael Jacobs is the director of
marketing and ticket operations for
athletics.
Tracy joined Elon in 2005 where
he was an assistant director of
development for athletics. In 2007,
he was promoted to the director of
the Phoenix Club.
Thomas, a 2005 Elon graduate,
was the previous assistant director
of the Phoenix Club,
Donald was the previous
assistant director of marketing
for Web site operations for two
years. Prior to that she sen/ed as
an assistant sports information for
four years at Elon.
Jacobs was named the director
of ticket operations in spring
2008, Prior to joining Elon, he was
an assistant ticket manager at
Charlotte,
SPORTS IN BRIEF