ELON, N.C. (Interstat) — The Elon Phoenix opened its 2026 season with a commanding 13-1 victory over the Delaware Blue Hens on Friday evening at Walter C. Latham Park, capitalizing on a decisive seven-run seventh inning to turn a competitive game into a rout.

The contest, played on a cool Feb. 13 afternoon, saw the Phoenix overcome an early deficit with a five-run second inning and then break the game wide open late, sending 13 batters to the plate in the seventh. Delaware, which opened its season with the loss, managed just six hits against four Elon pitchers.

Delaware struck first without the benefit of a hit in the opening frame. Leadoff batter Sal Mineo reached on a fielding error, advanced on a passed ball and a groundout, and scored on a wild pitch by Elon starter Jack Strange. That unearned run would be the Blue Hens’ only tally of the night.

Elon responded emphatically in the bottom of the second against Delaware starter Ryan Conway. After two walks, Ryan Alford tied the game with an RBI double. Following a foul out, Connor Sterling delivered a two-run single to give Elon a 3-1 lead. The inning continued as Shane Hall capped the five-run rally with a two-run double down the right field line, with both runs unearned after a Delaware error extended the frame.

The game settled into a stalemate for the next four innings. Delaware scratched across its lone run in the fifth when Jeremy Wolf doubled and later scored on an RBI single by Aidan Minckler, cutting the deficit to 5-1. Elon, however, squandered several opportunities to extend its lead, stranding runners in scoring position in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings.

The most important part of the game arrived in the bottom of the seventh, when Elon transformed a 6-1 lead into a blowout. Facing the Delaware bullpen, the Phoenix displayed patience and timely hitting. With the bases loaded, Sterling worked an RBI walk. Cole Richards was then hit by a pitch to force in another run. Hall followed with another bases-loaded walk, and Justin Mariano broke it open with a two-run single through the right side. A Delaware error, its third of the game, kept the inning alive and led to two more unearned runs, one on a hit-by-pitch and the final on an RBI single by Charlie Roche. In total, Elon scored seven runs on just three hits in the inning, benefiting from four walks, a hit batter, and a critical error.

Elon’s pitching staff stifled the Blue Hens throughout. Strange earned the win, allowing one unearned run on three hits over four and two-thirds innings. Relievers Michael Staiano, Kai Nomura, and LT combined for four and one-third innings of scoreless relief, surrendering just three hits.

For Elon, Hall drove in three runs, while Mariano and Sterling each had two RBIs. Alford scored three times. Delaware’s Minckler had two of his team’s six hits and the lone RBI.

With the victory, Elon begins its season 1-0, while Delaware starts 0-1. The two teams are scheduled to continue their series with a doubleheader on Saturday. Delaware will then travel to face La Salle on Tuesday before a weekend series at Mississippi State. Elon will host Presbyterian on Tuesday before hitting the road for a series at Charleston Southern next weekend.