When the Elon University baseball team finished opening weekend with its worst start since 2007, senior catcher Alex Swim thought he knew what the problem was.
“We have to be tougher as a team,” Swim said. “I’m seeing a little bit of tendencies of last year’s team where if we get down three or four runs, we kind of shut it down and we kind of rely on the big hit to get back into it. We have to play with a lot of energy throughout the game.”
The Phoenix came out of the gate in game mode on Wednesday, Feb. 20, using a strong pitching performance from senior lefty Spencer Medick to top the North Carolina A&T State University Bulldogs, 7-5.
Before Medick even toed the rubber for the bottom of the first inning, he already had a 3-0 lead to work with thanks to the top of the Elon lineup.
Junior leadoff man Sebastian Gomez opened with a double down the right field line. The infielder moved to third on a groundout from sophomore Joey Tomko before Swim singled to first to bring him home.
After senior first baseman Ryan Kinsella singled, sophomore Tyler McVicar struck out swinging, but Swim and Kinsella pulled off the double steal to put runners on second and third with two outs.
Before junior Wil Leathers continued his quick start to the season with a single to first, Swim scored on a wild pitch that put Kinsella on third. Leathers’ single scored Kinsella to give Medick the 3-0 advantage early.
Though getting roughed up on Saturday, Feb. 16 against Boston College, Medick proved the first appearance jitters were behind him by throwing seven innings of scoreless three-hit baseball. The senior struck out six Aggies while not walking a batter.
Highlighted by a two run single from Tomko and a two-run triple from Kinsella, the Phoenix tacked onto the lead in the fourth inning to extend it to seven with Medick in the midst of a stretch retiring 10 straight batters.
After Medick departed and senior Jordan Darnell came on to replace him in the bottom of the eighth, things started to get dicey for the Phoenix. By way of one hit (a single), two walks and a hit batter, Darnell had worked into a bases loaded jam with already a run across the plate.
Darnell didn’t record an out before being replaced by freshman Danny Lynch. The freshman gave up a single to his first batter to score two more Aggies, then got junior Cameron Jergens to ground into a fielders choice that also scored a run.
Lynch recorded the second out of the inning before giving up a single to right that forced Elon coach Mike Kennedy to go to his third pitcher of the inning in sophomore John Antonelli.
Though the right-hander threw a wild pitch that scored the final N.C. A&T run, Antonelli got help from his defense to end the inning when Swim tagged out senior outfielder Mark Nayles between third and home.
Kennedy turned to his hard-throwing closer Nate Young in the ninth. The right-hander made quick work of the Aggies, striking out two of the three batters he faced on his way to picking up his first save of the season.
Medick picked up the win to improve to 1-1 while the Phoenix moved to 2-2 overall. Junior Dustin Myers worked just one inning, but it was enough to take the loss after giving up three runs on four hits in the first inning as the Aggies dropped to 2-2.
Elon returns to the field in Myrtle Beach, S.C. on Friday, Feb. 22 against No. 8 Kentucky. The Phoenix will play a double header on Friday, taking on tournament host Coastal Carolina following the morning matchup against the Wildcats.