The Elon University baseball team was picked as the coaches’ preseason favorite to win the Southern Conference baseball championship in 2013. The Furman University Paladins? Seventh. Combine that logic with the fact that Sunday’s contest was played at Latham Park, and the expectation would be for Elon to grab a win.

That expectation did not come to fruition as Furman used a pair of three-run innings to take a 10-6 win Sunday, March 3, in the series finale, to take the rubber game of the three-game set.

Elon lost just seven home games in the entire 2012 season. To this point of 2013, they have already dropped four games.

“We’ve got a lot of things we need to improve,” Phoenix head coach Mike Kennedy said after the game. “I didn’t think we caught the ball well, we didn’t pitch it out of the bullpen very well at all. Offensively, we don’t do a lot of things right now that put a lot of fear in our opponents.”

Junior pitcher David Whitehead got the start for the Phoenix. He worked around an error to keep the Paladins off the board in the first inning. In the bottom of the frame, Elon sophomore center fielder Quinn Bower singled followed by a walk by junior shortstop Antonio Alvarez, the first of three on the day for the transfer.

“I’ve been working hard to stay off the bad pitches,” Alvarez said. “Today, I didn’t get any fastballs, so I got three walks.”

The quick start did not help Elon, as the next three hitters – senior right fielder Alex Swim, junior catcher Ryan Kinsella and freshman first baseman Danny Lynch – all struck out. The same situation would repeat itself twice later in the game, where Elon’s first two hitters reached base and the Phoenix would fail to score.

“First, fifth, and the sixth, we had the first two guys, didn’t score a run,” Kennedy said. “You’re not gonna win many games leaving the runners on. Just bad at-bats. If you tell me we’re going to get those guys on three of the first six innings, I’m gonna tell you, ‘OK, we’re going to be in pretty good shape.’”

Whitehead’s struggles began in the second when he allowed two runs on four hits, including a 2-RBI single by freshman second baseman Jordan Simpson.

“Learned a lot today,” Whitehead said. “Just gotta pitch better.”

Elon was able to answer in the bottom of the frame with a run thanks to a booming double by sophomore designated hitter Chris King and an RBI single from senior third baseman Chris Bresnahan. That offense was the only success Elon had at the plate for the first several innings, as Whitehead continued to struggle. Whitehead allowed two more base runners in the third and was responsible for five more runs before he was lifted in the seventh.

“I put myself in a tough position with runners on and no outs,” Whitehead said. “I was able to get out of it a couple of times, a couple of times they made me pay for it. I don’t make it easy on myself.”

Kennedy was critical of Whitehead’s performance. “He split the plate too much,” Kennedy said. “Too many balls in the middle of the plate. I thought he pitched away from contact instead of being aggressive. He’s got to continue to get better.”

By the time Whitehead’s line was finished, Elon trailed 7-1 and the looks of victory seemed slim. However, the offense began clicking with four straight hits in the bottom of the seventh from Alvarez, Swim, Kinsella and Lynch, with Alvarez and Swim scoring on Lynch’s hit. Kinsella and Lynch, traditionally aggressive hitters, were more patient and took pitches in their at bats until they were able to connect.

“When you’re down that much and you’ve got some guys on base, sometimes you’re able to relax a little more,” Kennedy explained about his hitters’ success. “Danny had a great at-bat, Ryan banged a single through there.”

Kinsella scored on a wild pitch before sophomore left fielder Joey Tomko reached on an error. Lynch and Tomko scored on a double down the left field line to cut the lead to one, 7-6. Kennedy said that his hitters’ approach changed when the game was close again.

“Every time it got close, I thought we kind of tensed up in the box a little bit,” he said.

After a scoreless eighth, Furman put the nail in the coffin with a three-run ninth and walked away with a 10-6 win. Furman starter Jake Wolff picked up the win with a five-inning, 11-strikeout performance. Whitehead took his second loss of the season to drop his record to 1-2.

Alvarez finished the day 1-2 with three walks in his first appearance in the second spot in the order. When asked if it reflects Kennedy’s trust in him, he replied: “I think so. He’s just gonna put whoever’s hot up in the lineup, trying to spark things up, right now we’re not clicking as a team.”

North Carolina State University visits Elon for a Tuesday night game, followed by College of Charleston, the media’s preseason pick to win the Southern Conference, next weekend for a three game set. In the meantime, Alvarez identified ways to improve before those games.

“We have to work on finishing games and not panicking when we get two strikes,” Alvarez said. “When we get that lead in the last couple innings, we just have to finish the game.”

Elon drops to 5-5, 1-2 in conference with the loss, and Furman improves to 8-3, 2-1 in SoCon play. First pitch for Tuesday night’s N.C. State game is set for 6:00 p.m. at Latham Park.