CHARLESTON, S.C. – Junior Josh Spano hit an RBI double in the eighth inning to drive in two runs and break a 1-1 tie as the High Point University baseball team picked up a 6-1 win over Charleston Southern in the series-opening game on Friday night in Charleston, S.C.
“This was a tough ballgame tonight,” head coach Craig Cozart said. “Their guy threw a hell of a game but John McGillicuddy was just as good. We finally got some timely hits from Josh Spano and Spencer Angelis in the eighth and ninth innings to give us the cushion we needed. Conor Lourey was absolutely dominant yet again. It is great to get the first win but we have another doubleheader tomorrow so we have to figure out how to put together 18 great innings.”
Junior John McGillicuddy earned the win on the mound for the Panthers, improving to 3-2 on the season. McGillicuddy allowed just one run on seven hits and four walks over seven innings of work while striking out four. Junior Conor Lourey pitched the final two innings and recorded three strikeouts to pick up his second save of the season.
Tory Schroff suffered the loss for Charleston Southern, dropping to 2-2 on the season. Schroff pitched 7-1/3 innings and allowed three earned runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out five. Schroff left in the eighth inning having only allowed one run but was charged with both runs on the Spano double.
High Point improves to 16-13 overall and 5-5 in the Big South with the win over the Buccaneers. Charleston Southern drops below .500 overall at 16-17 and falls to 2-8 in the Big South with the loss.
High Point took an early 1-0 lead in the third with an RBI single by senior Kyle Brandenburg to drive in junior Dane McDermott. The Buccaneers then tied the game at 1-1 in the fourth with an RBI groundout by Nate Blanchard.
The game remained tied until in the top of the eighth inning when Spano hit an RBI double to put the Panthers in front 3-1. Spano came to the plate following back-to-back singles by freshman Josh Greene and junior Spencer Angelis and went the other way with a 2-1 pitch, sending a double into the right-center gap to score both HPU base runners.
HPU extended its lead to 6-1 with three runs in the ninth on a bases-loaded double by Angelis. Freshman Chris Clare and McDermott both earned one-out walks and Brandenburg was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Angelis. The High Point first baseman laced a double to the wall in center, clearing the bases to put HPU up by five.
Angelis finished 4-5 at the plate with three RBI and a run scored for the Panthers. Junior Dane McDermott reached base four times, going 2-3 with a walk, a hit-by-pitch and two runs.
Chase Shelton finished 3-3 at the plate with a double and a walk for the Buccaneers. Alex Tomasovich saw his nation-best 24-game hit streak come to an end on Friday as the senior finished 0-4 at the plate with a walk.
High Point and Charleston Southern will wrap up their three-game weekend series with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 5, beginning at noon in Charleston, S.C. The final game was moved up a day from Sunday following Friday’s game due to the threat of inclement weather.