CHAPEL HILL – The Elon softball team mounted a brief rally between the fifth and sixth innings, but ultimately fell to James Madison, 13-4, on Sunday in the Phoenix’s final game of the UNC Tournament at Anderson Softball Stadium.
Elon dropped to 0-3 on the weekend, while the Dukes improved to 2-0. At the Plate
- Elon recorded six hits in the contest, its highest total of the weekend. Lani Wyrick finished 2-for-2 at the plate, scoring two runs while also drawing a pair of walks. She added a double to her stat line.
- Peyton Fitzpatrick and Jenna Klein each drove in a run for the Phoenix.
In the Circle
- Chana Wolfe suffered the loss to move to 0-2 on the season. The senior pitched 2.0 innings, allowing two earned runs with four walks.
- Lia Miller and Kyra Leonard also saw time in the circle. Miller tossed two innings, while Leonard appeared in three frames.
The Rundown
- James Madison jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning on a two-run home run by Peyton List. The Dukes added four more runs in the top of the fifth, including a three-run homer, to extend the lead to 6-0.
- Elon began to rally in the bottom of the fifth. Wyrick led off the inning with a double and later scored on an error during Mary Moss Wirt’s at-bat to put the Phoenix on the board. Wirt advanced into scoring position with two outs before coming home on the Dukes’ second error of the inning, trimming the deficit to 6-2.
- The Phoenix added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth to pull within striking distance. Payton Swart and Wyrick each drew one-out walks before Klein drove in Swart with a single. Fitzpatrick followed with an RBI single of her own to score Wyrick and make it a two-run game at 6-4. Elon loaded the bases later in the inning after a walk by Greta Hessenthaler, but James Madison induced the final out to escape the threat.
- The Dukes pulled away in the top of the seventh, scoring seven runs to take a 13-4 lead. Elon put two runners on in the bottom of the inning but was unable to push across another run as James Madison closed out the victory.
On Deck…