Elon University head coach Mike Kennedy described it as a “broken record.” The Phoenix baseball team jumped out to a lead, only to collapse in the late innings. Wake Forest University’s Demon Deacons provided the opposition on Wednesday evening at Latham Park and pounced on a struggling Elon bullpen to take a 17-6 win.
Seven of those 17 runs scored in the ninth inning, an inning that Kennedy was not around to see. Home plate umpire Greg Howard ejected Kennedy in the bottom of the sixth inning for arguing balls and strikes.
“I don’t think that was warranted,” Kennedy said. “But the umpires have all the control. I gave him a few choice words.”
Per Southern Conference rules, Kennedy will have to sit out the Phoenix’s next nonconference game against North Carolina A&T State University.
While Kennedy was still in the dugout, Elon opened up a 5-2 lead. Freshman pitcher Tyler Manez started on the mound for Elon and labored through four innings plus a batter.
Kennedy described Manez’s outing as “okay,” as the left-hander surrendered three earned runs during his work.
Elon scored two runs in the bottom of the third, the first coming on an RBI single by junior catcher Ryan Kinsella. A second run crossed when junior shortstop Antonio Alvarez drew a bases-loaded walk from Demon Deacons senior pitcher Austin Stadler.
The Phoenix plated three more runs in the bottom of the fourth, including a two-RBI double from Kinsella. The Warren, N.J. native was none too pleased with what ensued.
“We just got to hold leads,” Kinsella said. “We score and take the lead, just have to throw up a zero.”
Kinsella finished his night at 2 for 5 with a run scored and three RBI.
Elon’s bullpen, which entered the week with an ERA of 6.87, coughed up fourteen runs in the game’s final five innings.
“They have the stuff,” Kinsella said. “It just seems like every day it’s something else. It’s either not executing pitches or not making plays behind them.”
Sophomore pitcher John Antonelli surrendered three runs in only 2/3 of an inning before freshman pitcher Danny Lynch, who eventually took the loss, coughed up four runs in only an inning.
After junior Jacob Baker tossed a scoreless 2/3 innings, seniors Alex Swim and Jordan Darnell combined for the ninth inning. The pair allowed seven runs on only four hits. Two walks and two errors also doomed Elon in the frame.
Kennedy was none too pleased with the last frame, and compared it to the big innings Elon has surrendered all year.
“In that ninth inning for example, there’s five or six plays we don’t make,” Kennedy said. “That’s how you have a seven run inning – we’ve done that all year.”
Lynch took the loss to fall to 0-1 on the season. Sophomore pitcher Colin Egan picked up the win for Wake Forest to improve to 3-0. Overall, the Demon Deacons improved to 26-23.
With only seven games to go, Elon sits at 23-25, in a position that Kennedy calls “uncharted waters.”
“We’re not good enough right now,” Kennedy said. “The level of play we’re playing at, that’s not good enough.”
Elon will get a shot to bounce back on Friday in Boone when the Phoenix travels to Appalachian State University. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. It’s the final road series of the regular season before the Phoenix come home for the final four games.