Rain Expected for Sunday Rubber Match Between Aggies and Phoenix

ELON, N.C. (Interstat) — The North Carolina A&T Aggies and the Elon Phoenix will conclude their three-game nonconference series Sunday afternoon at Walter C. Latham Park, with wet weather in the forecast.

First pitch is scheduled for the afternoon, though the game could be impacted by rain with a temperature near 75 degrees forecast.

The series is tied after a split of the first two games. Elon (7-7) evened the set with an 8-3 victory Saturday after North Carolina A&T (3-11) took the opener 2-1 on Friday.

A key matchup could feature a rematch of effective pitchers from Saturday’s contest. Aggies right-hander Jordan Bright delivered four hitless innings of relief in the loss, striking out seven while allowing two earned runs. For the Phoenix, reliever Michael Staiano earned the win with four scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and fanning five.

Bright has shown swing-and-miss ability recently, recording 14 strikeouts over his last 9 1/3 innings across four appearances, though he has been tagged with the loss in three of his last five outings. Staiano has been a reliable arm out of the Elon bullpen, posting a 0.00 ERA over his last three appearances, spanning 6 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts.

The Aggies will look to snap a four-game skid that followed their series-opening win here. Elon has alternated wins and losses over its last six games.

According to Interstat’s game simulator, the projected final score is Elon 3, North Carolina A&T 2.

Following Sunday’s game, North Carolina A&T will host UNC Greensboro on Wednesday. Elon travels to face North Carolina State on Tuesday.