Baseball sweeps App. State
Phoenix travels to No. 6 Miami this week Colin Donohue / Managing Editor
Big games? In February? The season only started two weeks
ago, but Elon’s three-game series sweep of Appalachian
State over the weekend was crucial for two reasons.
No. 1: The team desperately needed to find some semblance of
consistency. Already, this young season has been up and down
for the Phoenix. It struggled to a 3-5 start, with all losses
coming against No. 22 N.C. State and Delaware State.
No. 2: Elon (6-5) needed to gain a little momentum heading
into this weekend’s three-game set with No. 6 Miami.
The Phoenix beat Appalachian 6-5 in 12 innings Friday, then
swept Sunday’s doubleheader, taking the first game 7-3
and the second game 14-2.
Finally, Elon combined solid starting pitching with timely
hitting.
“One day our offense will show up, one day our
pitching will show up,” outfielder Grant Rembert said.
“But this weekend we put it together.”
Perhaps no one benefited more from seeing Appalachian State
than Rembert, whose struggles have been magnified to a
greater degree due to the team’s lack of offense early
in the season.
Rembert, who will be counted on to hit third or fourth on a
close to everyday basis, busted out of his slump. He went 6
for 13 over the weekend with six RBI, three runs and three
doubles.
“He’s real close,” head coach Mike Kennedy
said of Rembert. “He’s been struggling a bit, but
he’s been real close. He’s starting to come
around a little bit. And at the right time.”
Rembert said the key has been constant practice.
“Basically, I’ve been struggling a little bit
earlier in the year,” Rembert said. “I’m
just trying to come out and stay loose, and it finally just
worked out for me this weekend.”
Kennedy, though, said pitcher Lance Cole put together the
most impressive weekend.
The converted reliever pitched Game 1 of Sunday’s
double dip, going eight innings and giving up only two runs
on seven hits.
“This was (Cole’s) first start,” Kennedy
said. “To get his first start in a conference game and
pitch that well speaks volumes for Lance.”
But was last weekend’s set of games an aberration?
While it’s difficult to know which team will show up in
Miami – the steady Phoenix or the combustible Phoenix
– Kennedy said one thing is sure. His team is perfect
in conference play, and the Appalachian series did build
confidence.
“The biggest thing is you’re 3-0 in the
cnference,” Kennedy said. “You want to get off to
a good start in the league, and nobody plays for two weeks.
So for two weeks, everybody sees us at 3-0, so they’re
kind of chasing us.
“Obviously, we needed some wins for confidence sake.
But to get off 3-0 in the conference was huge for us.”
| 
