Baseball beats Duke, drops two against Delaware State
Andrew High / Sports Editor
A slight drizzle, not love, was in the air Feb. 14 as the
Elon Phoenix took on Delaware State in its first home game.
The Phoenix fell 6-3, commiting five errors in its first loss
of the season.
Earlier in the week, the Phoenix beat Duke University,
notching an impressive 9-8 win in 11 innings. The team racked
up 19 hits in the game and commited no errors. Freshman
left-handed pitcher George Blystone got the win for the
Phoenix after two RBIs by freshman shortstop Tyler Stevens.
Matt Chastain, the starting pitcher for Elon, went 4 and
one-third innings for the team, giving up four earned runs on
seven hits. Chastain fell behind in counts, forcing his pitch
count up into the eighties in just four innings of work.
“He’s thrown long enough to be able to do that
successfully,” Elon baseball coach Mike Kennedy said.
Chastain showed signs of slowing down in the top of the
fifth inning, walking two straight runners and giving up a
single to a third. Kennedy pulled him in favor of reliever
Chris DeFago. DeFago, a freshman, gave the team a stellar
performance, pitching the rest of the game and allowing one
earned run.
“[DeFago] has pitched well for us in the
preseason,” Kennedy said. “He earned a shot to
get out there today.”
DeFago, a left-handed pitcher, said he benefited from some
of Kennedy’s coaching.
“I was throwing a lot of sliders to the lefties and a
lot of low, outside fastballs to the righties,” he
said. “Coach Kennedy has been working with me on the
sliders.”
Despite homeruns by sophomore Chris Price and junior catcher
Grant Rembert, Kennedy said the team didn’t pitch well
enough to overcome its fielding errors. Delaware State also
got a strong performance from its starting pitcher, Shawn
Phillips. Phillips went eight innings, giving up three runs.
“Chris is a strong kid,” Kennedy said.
“Grant is the transfer from Asheville. Both those guys
have a chance to hit for us. We just wish we could have put
some more on. We pounded out 17 hits against Duke, but we
faced a much better arm today.”
Elon came up short in the second game of the series Feb. 15,
going down 8-7. The Phoenix rallied from an 8-3 deficit over
the final three innings, but couldn’t close the gap.
The team also had trouble fielding the ball, registering
another three errors in the sleet and snow. Justin Weeks
(0-1) picked up his first loss of the season. The
team’s final game against Delaware State, scheduled for
Feb. 16, was canceled due to inclement weather.
The Phoenix will be back in action Feb. 20 with the first of
a three game in three day set against North Carolina State
University in Raleigh.
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