Senior shortstop Andy Moore delivered a walk-off single on Friday in Elon University’s first Colonial Athletic Association baseball game to give the Phoenix a 5-4 win over the James Madison Dukes.
After sophomore starting pitcher Matt Harris allowed four James Madison runs in 6.1 innings of pitching, sophomore Nick Beaulac appeared in relief and got himself out of several high-pressure situations.
Beaulac entered the game in the top of the seventh inning with one out and a runner on second but got a couple outs to keep the Dukes off the board. In the eighth, he faced a two-out bases loaded situation. But he got out of the jam by forcing a grounder. In the 10th inning, the Dukes had bases loaded with one out. Fortunately for the Phoenix, Beaulac delivered a strike out and a fly out to put his team in a position to win the ballgame.
Sophomore Nick Zammarelli singled to center field to lead off the bottom of the 10th and advanced to second on a fielding error by James Madison’s center fielder. He then advanced to third on a balk. After a pair of strikeouts, Moore came to the plate and hit a deep fly ball to right center. As a Duke outfielder lunged for the ball in desperation, it clipped the outfield to bring Zammarelli to home plate for the 5-4 victory.
Elon and James Madison got off to a hot start offensively with Elon scoring one run in the first and three runs in third while James Madison scored a pair in the second and fourth.
With the win, the Phoenix ended a five-game losing streak and captured its first CAA win. Elon will square off against the Dukes at home Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m.