Fast Start Sends Charleston Past Elon, 4-2, In Elimination Game
Rob Washburn
Box Score
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. (May 23, 2025) – Fourth-seeded Charleston sprinted out to a three-run lead in the first and made it stand up, defeating No. 6 Elon, 4-2, in Game 6 of the CAA Baseball Championship on Friday afternoon at the Ballpark at Patriots Point.
Charleston (36-21) returns to action at 3 p.m. this afternoon in another elimination game against No. 3 Campbell. Elon ended its season with a 25-32 record.
Left-hander Hayden Thomas (2-1) picked up the win for the Cougars after limiting the Phoenix to one run on four hits over 6.0 innings and striking out five. Davis Aiken didn’t allow a hit over the final 1.1 frames to earn his league-leading 13
th save.
Charleston used timely hitting and its speed on the basepaths to jump out to a 3-0 advantage in the first. Leadoff hitter Daryian Pendergrass drew a walk, stole second and third, and came home on a Dylan Johnson base hit. The Cougars were able to load the bases with two outs and Tyler Sorrentino delivered a single that plated a pair.
Elon cut into the deficit in the third. Will Vergantino opened the frame with a single and advanced to second on a throwing error. Justin Szestowicki followed with an RBI base hit up the middle to make it 3-1.
The Cougars wasted no time in pushing the lead back to three as freshman Landon Penfield led off the bottom of the third with his team-leading ninth homer of the season.
After recording only one hit over a four-inning stretch, Elon fought back in the eighth. Jake Hajdu and Tank Yaghoubi opened the frame with back-to-back singles and both advanced into scoring position on a groundout. Another groundout brought in Hajdu to pull Elon within 4-2. A walk to Charlie Granatell put runners on the corners, but Aiken came on and escaped the jam by inducing a fly ball to left.
Johnson led Charleston offensively, going 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Penfield reached base three times and scored twice.
For Elon, Hajdu was the only player with multiple hits, going 2-for-2 and drawing a walk.