CofC wins morning game, season ends with loss to Elon

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Fourth-seeded College of Charleston defeated fifth-seeded Delaware 5-2 in the morning before falling to second-seeded Elon 10-5, ending their run in the 2023 CAA Championships from Patriots Point.

Joseph Mershon finished the day with three hits and 3 RBI scoring twice, Cole Mathis added three hits and 3 RBI and Cam Dean added three hits.

Game one saw Connor Campbell toss 6.1 innings of one earned run baseball before Aidan Hunter finished off the seventh and William Privette earned the six-out save - his 10th of the season.

Charleston pushed across the first run of the day as Mershon led off with a triple to right center and scored one pitch later on a Mathis sacrifice fly. Delaware would tie it in the third on a Josearmando Diaz RBI single.

Mathis added his second RBI of the opener singling home Khyree Miller in the fifth, giving Charleston a 2-1 lead at the time. Delaware would tie it once again in the seventh on an unearned run.

Luke Wood delivered the go-ahead RBI single for a second-straight day in the seventh then two insurance runs came home in the eighth - a wild pitch and fielding error doing the job.

Game two saw quick zeros traded through the first two frames between Aidan Hunter and Justin Mitrovich. Elon cracked the scoreboard first tallying five runs on seven hits in the third - their first of two five-run innings in the contest.

Charleston wouldn’t go away, however, scoring three runs in the fifth jumpstarted by a Joseph Mershon two-run triple (his second of the day) then another Cole Mathis sacrifice fly.

That was the closest Charleston was able to bring it as a second five-run frame by the Phoenix in the seventh gave a 10-3 cushion at the time. The Cougars loaded the bases in the ninth and scored two, but fell 10-5.

Leading Off

Final Score Game 1: Charleston 5, Delaware 2

Final Score Game 2: Elon 10, Charleston 5

Location: Patriots Point

Records: Charleston (36-22), Delaware (30-29), Elon (33-21)

Notes

• Joseph Mershon tripled in each game to finish the season with a team-high five. Those five three-baggers are also a career-high for the senior infielder. Mershon finished the season with 24 extra-base hits - five triples, five home runs and 14 doubles.

• Cole Mathis finished the day with three RBI bringing his total to 51 tying Trotter Harlan for a team lead. Mathis and Harlan became the first duo to drive home 50-plus each since 2015.

• William Privette nailed down his 10th save of the season, his second-straight year with double digit saves. Privette’s latest gives the junior Chapin, S.C. native 22 for his career - fourth-most in program history.