Sports
Wednesday, April 30, 2014 • page 18
Elon shuffles pitching rotation
Tommy Hamzik
Sports Editor
Offense hasn’t been much of a problem
as of late for the Elon University baseball
team. The Phoenix is hitting .272 as a team
and averaging nearly six runs per game.
But the pitching staff is still finding it
self because of some recent changes in the
starting rotation.
Elon used a weekend rotation of junior
Lucas Bakker on Friday, sophomore Mi
chael Elefante on Saturday and junior Jake
Stalzer on Sunday. But both Elefante and
Stalzer were replaced in past weekends.
Stalzer didn’t pitch in a weekend series
against Wofford College April 11-13 but
came back the next weekend and tossed
eight innings against Appalachian State
University April 20 to pick up the win.
On April 26 against the University of
North Carolina at Greensboro, freshman
Matt Harris started in place of Elefante.
“It’s not so much a shake-up, but just
where we are in the league right now,”
Elon head coach Mike Kennedy said.
“We’re trying to get ready for the [South
ern Conference] Tournament. We have to
get some guys some innings.”
It ended up being a reversal of roles, as
Harris lasted just two innings in which he
allowed six runs on nine hits. Elefante then
came on in relief of Harris in the third and
lasted five innings.
Harris has made 14 appearances this
year, including four starts. Prior to the
game against UNCG, he hadn’t started a
game since March 10.
“We have to stretch him out,” Kennedy
said. “That’s the biggest reason we’re doing
that. If he’s going to pitch in the confer
ence tournament and be a factor, we can’t
count on him in May to pitch seven or
eight innings when he’s thrown three at
the max.”
Elon has started a number of different
players during its midweek games as well.
Sophomore Tyler Manez seemed to be
Elon’s go-to midweek starter early in the
year, but is 1-3 and has lasted more than
five innings just once in his five starts.
Freshmen Graham Edwards, Dimitri
Lettas and Mike Krill all performed well
out of the bullpen to start the year, leading
Kennedy to throw them into the starter’s
role. Edwards and Krill both failed to
reach the third inning in their starts, al
lowing a combined eight runs on nine hits
in 3.2 innings of work.
Lettas threw 6.1 scoreless innings of re
lief against Wake Forest University March
26, prompting Kennedy to start him the
following week against North Carolina
A&T State University. He continued to
excel, going six innings and allowing just
two hits. His hot streak ended April 13
when he was taken out after 2.1 innings in
a start at Wofford.
With two losses at UNCG and some
discouraging signs on the mound hanging
over his head, Kennedy said he’ll do what
ever it takes to set his team up for a good
seed in next month’s SoCon Tournament.
“It puts you in a tough spot in the con
ference,” Kennedy said. “We want to finish
as high as we can. We’re going to go out
there and throw our best guys.”
For recaps of Elon games and more, please
visit elonpendulum.com.
Three-headed attack leading Phoenix offense
Kyle Maher
Senior Reporter
Softball is a team game, and everyone on
the Elon University softball team has made
contributions to the team’s success. But
three players — sophomore Emily Cam
eron, senior Carleigh Nester and freshman
Alaina Hall — have shouldered the large
majority of the offensive load.
Elon’s “Big Three” have scored 90 of
the team’s 193 runs and contributed 75 of
Elon’s 183 RBIs.
To see just how much these three are re
lied upon to generate offense, look no fur
ther than the gap between Nester — who
has the lowest batting average of the three
at .306 — and the team’s role players, the
best of whom is hitting .245.
“They bring so much to the table,” Elon
head coach Kathy Bocock said. “Other
teams know about them and their impact
on our offense and they focus on them,
which gives the other young ladies a chance
to step up.”
Hall said she feeds off Nester and Cam
eron’s success because it motivates her to up
her game to match their performance.
“They motivate me to be better every
day,” Hall said. “When they get a hit, I want
to get a hit. It’s just the way I am. I’m a
competitor. I want to be the best, and play
ing with Carleigh and [Cameron] will help
me get there.”
Individually, Hall has been enormously
productive for a player in her first year at the
collegiate level. She has the team’s highest
batting average at .354 and has 51 hits on
the season. She’s also driven in 13 runs and
has three home runs under her belt.
Her production, Nester said, has been
anything but surprising given the poise and
maturity she’s shown as a true freshman.
“She picks up on things that other people
don’t, things that other people miss,” Nester
said. “She’s so dedicated to her game and to
improving that she was bound to have suc
cess right away.”
Cameron is hitting .320, has seven home
runs and 23 RBIs. She leads the team with
an on-base percentage of .406, and is sec
ond on the team with a .516 slugging per
centage.
Her bat. Hall said, is vital to the Elon’s
lineup, because she brings run-producing
power bat to the middle of the order.
“If she’s on, if she’s hitting well, then
there aren’t too many hitters who can match
her production,” Hall said. “She’s capable of
carrying our offense by herself if she has to.”
Nester, the only upperclassman of the
three, is hitting .306, is second on the team
in hits with 44 and leads the team with 13
home runs and a slugging percentage of
.660.
Hall said Nester always “comes through
in the clutch.”
“Carleigh’s our leader,” Hall said. “She’s
who we turn to for the big hit in the big
moment with the game on the line because
she always delivers the hit we need. It makes
the rest of us want to match her success and
be able to defiver if we ever are up in that
situation.”
With the Southern Conference tourna
ment looming, the Phoenix expects its big
hitters to continue being catalysts of an of
fense that struggles without their consistent
production.
If HaU, Cameron and Nester are able to
stay hot and lead the team on a late-season
run, the Phoenix could find the momentum
necessary to make a late push for a bid to
the NCAA tournament.
ASHLEY KING 1 Staff Photographer
Sophomore Emily Cameron’s .320 batting average
has helped carry the Elon softball team in the 2014
season.