ELON, N.C. – The Wofford baseball team fell behind early and could not climb back into the contest Friday evening at Latham Park, falling 12-5 to the Elon Phoenix. The Terriers drop to 12-6 as the Phoenix improve to 8-9.
 
Branton Little (2-2) suffered the loss as the starter for Wofford, allowing nine runs in 3.2 innings of work. He struck out three. Alec Bouchard and John Gray each tossed 1.2 innings to follow. Bouchard surrendered three runs (one earned) with three punchouts, and Gray struck out one in a scoreless outing. Davis Rivers made his collegiate debut, tossing a scoreless inning with his first two punchouts.
 
Elon's starter, Justin Mitrovich (2-0), earned the win after hurling 6.0 innings with four runs (three earned) allowed.
 
Offenses paced the way this evening with each team recording double-digit hits. Elon had 15 with Wofford owning 10. Tyler Bak, Ryan Wynn, and David Wiley each notched two to top the squad. Wiley added two RBI, as did James Layman. Wynn knocked home one and added a walk to reach base three total times. One of Wynn's hits was a homer, his third of the season. Wiley added a double for Wofford's other extra-base hit.
 
Elon struck first with five runs in the bottom of the first inning. A bases-loaded walk gave way to a three-run double, and an RBI single granted the Phoenix their early 5-0 advantage.
 
The Terriers responded with a run in the top of the second. Hunter Herndon opened the frame with a single, and later in the inning James Layman lifted a sacrifice fly to bring him home, cutting the margin to 5-1.
 
However, Elon got the run back with a solo homer in the bottom of the inning, making the margin 6-1.
 
In the top of fourth, Wofford tacked on another run with a Layman RBI single, cutting the deficit to 6-2.
 
Elon added three more in the bottom of the fourth, however, to stay in front. A wild pitch brought one in, and the Phoenix then posted an RBI single and RBI triple for a 9-2 lead.
 
Wofford kept fighting with two runs in the top of the fifth. Tyler Bak singled, and Ryan Wynn walked to set up David Wiley, who clubbed a double to left center that brought two runs home. The Terriers pulled within 9-4.
 
Elon used its own two-run double in the bottom of the fifth to keep pace, staying ahead 11-4. An RBI groundout in the bottom of the sixth stretched the Phoenix advantage to 12-4.
 
In the top of the seventh, Wynn went opposite field with a solo shot to right, pulling Wofford within 12-5.
 
Pitching settled in from there for both squads, as the remaining two frames went by scoreless. Despite Wofford's comeback pushes, Elon held firm for the 12-5 win.
 
The Terriers will continue the series with game two tomorrow afternoon at Elon. First pitch is set for 2:00 p.m. with the contest streaming on FloSports.