Late rally pushes Elon past Charleston on Sunday

CHARLESTON, S.C. - It was a back-and-forth weekend with Sunday’s contest being no different. A late rally in the eighth inning gave Elon a 10-9 win over Charleston to take the series from Patriots Point.

Charleston and Elon traded offensive blows throughout with momentum swinging between dugouts seemingly every frame. The lead changed hands three times between the sixth and eighth inning with each side posting at least three runs in a single frame to swing the game in their favor down the stretch.

Elon took advantage of a Charleston miscue in the eighth to retake the lead at 10-8, but the Cougars weren’t done just yet. Cam Dean came within a few feet of walking it off but drove in a run on a double off the right field padding putting the tying and winning runs into scoring position. Elon was able to get out of the jam and take the game and series.

Leading Off

Final Score: Elon 10, Charleston 9

Location: Patriots Point

Records: Charleston (27-16, 13-8 CAA), Elon (27-16, 15-8 CAA)

How It Happened

Charleston opened the high-scoring affair with two runs in the first inning behind back-to-back doubles from Trotter Harlan and Luke Wood.

Elon scored the next frame on a two-run home run from Justin Cassella - the first of two for the Phoenix center fielder.

JT Marr sent a ball over the trees behind the right field wall for a 4-2 Charleston lead then two batters later Luke Wood smoked a ball over the center field fence off the batter’s eye for a 5-2 lead through three.

Elon would get one run back in the fourth with the score holding at 5-3 through five complete.

Cassella hit his second home run of the day in the sixth to tie the game at 5-5 before an RBI single from James Broderick pushed Elon ahead 6-5.

The lead changed hands once again in the seventh inning as Cole Mathis ripped his 19th double of the season down the left field line to score Khyree Miller and Joseph Mershon. Luke Wood added a sacrifice fly to make it 8-6 Cougars through seven complete.

Elon would cut it to an 8-7 game then scored three unearned runs after a Cougar miscue kept the inning alive.

Charleston had one more rally attempt in the home half of the ninth as Cam Dean doubled home Cole Mathis to make it 10-9. Elon was able to wiggle out and leave two men in scoring position to claim the game and series.

Notes

Five Cougars had multiple hits on the day and three had multi-RBI days posting nine runs on 12 hits.

Cole Mathis collected his 19th double of the season to overtake the CAA lead. Mathis also leads the Cougar offense with 37 RBI and has reached safely in 27-straight games.

Luke Wood went deep in the third inning and added an RBI double - the home run giving him the team lead on the season.

Sunday’s loss was just the second time Charleston has lost a series at home in 2023 after taking the last seven dating back to late February.

Trotter Harlan’s first-inning RBI double gave the senior a 10-game hit streak and pushed his on-base streak to 17.

Joseph Mershon has reached base safely in all 31 games he’s played finishing Sunday’s game 2-for-5 with two runs scored.

Up Next

Charleston returns to action next weekend as they head to Greensboro to face CAA newcomer North Carolina A&T.

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