2022 CAA Baseball Championships

Stephenson Homers Twice As Elon Defeats UNCW In Elimination Game

Stephenson Homers Twice As Elon Defeats UNCW In Elimination Game

DH Luke Stephenson continued his torrid hitting with a pair of homers as Elon matched its season-high for runs in a 13-3 victory over UNCW.

May 28, 2022 by FloBaseball Staff
Stephenson Homers Twice As Elon Defeats UNCW In Elimination Game

Designated hitter Luke Stephenson continued his torrid hitting with a pair of homers as sixth-seeded Elon matched its season-high for runs in a 13-3 victory over No. 2 UNCW in Game 6 of the CAA Baseball Championship on Friday evening at Latham Park.

The Phoenix (27-27) will be back in action at 9:15 tonight as it faces top-seeded Charleston in another elimination game. The Seahawks (31-24) were knocked out of the tournament with the setback. 

Stephenson finished 2-for-5 with three RBI’s and now has four homers in three tournament games. Connor Coolahan went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI’s, while Justin Cassella was 2-for-5 and scored twice to pace a 10-hit performance for the Phoenix.

UNCW got two hits apiece from Brooks Baldwin, Dillon Lifrieri and Noah Bridges as part of an 11-hit night.

Reliever Liam Dabagian (2-2) picked up the victory for Elon after giving up just one run over 3.0 innings. Joe Savino blanked the Seahawks over the final 4.0 frames to record his first save of the year.

Both teams got on the board in the second. Stephenson opened the frame with a solo shot to left. UNCW answered back in the bottom half when a Chris Thorburn groundout plated Matt Suggs, who had singled to start the inning. 

Elon regained the lead for good with a three-run third. Cassella drew a one-out walk, advanced to third on an errant pickoff attempt and scored on Coolahan’s bunt single. Alex Iadisernia followed with a two-run homer to right, putting the Phoenix on top, 4-1.

The teams traded solo runs over the next three innings. A leadoff homer by UNCW’s Bridges trimmed the deficit to two in the bottom of the third. Elon tacked on a run in the fourth when Coolahan squeezed in Carlos Marte. The Seahawks closed within 5-3 in the fifth on Ethan Baucom’s RBI double down the left-field line.

Elon took advantage of three Seahawks’ errors to blow the game open in the seventh. The Phoenix put two runners aboard and Charlie Granatell delivered an RBI double to left center. With the bases loaded, Will Vergantino grounded to second, but a throwing error allowed all three runners to score, making it 9-3. Another throwing error on a pickoff attempt enabled Vergantino to come around for the Phoenix’s 10th run.

The Phoenix tacked on three more runs in the eighth as Stephenson belted a two-run homer and Vergantino had an RBI single.