BOONE, N.C. – Senior Kyle Brandenburg drove in the winning run in the ninth inning as the High Point University baseball team picked up a 6-5 win over Appalachian State in Boone, N.C., on Tuesday night. Brandenburg went 4-5 and drove in both the tying and winning runs.
“This was a methodical quality win,” head coach Craig Cozart said. “I loved our approach in all aspects tonight. Kyle Brandenburg was special. It was also great that Jon Carlson was able to get his first Div. I win. I am proud of our guys. They put together a quality performance against a team that has been playing very well lately.”
Freshman Chris Clare walked to leadoff the ninth and was immediately bunted over to second. Brandenburg then hit a double off the wall in straightaway center to drive in Clare for the go-ahead run.
Graduate student Jon Carlson pitched two scoreless innings to pick up his first Div. I win. The left-hander retired six-straight batters with a strikeout to earn the win. Senior John Maloney notched his sixth save of the season, facing three batters and striking out one.
Taylor Thurber took the loss for ASU to drop to 0-4 on the season. Thurber pitched two innings and allowed one earned run on two hits and a walk.
High Point improves to 19-13 with the win over the Mountaineers. It was just the Panthers’ third win over ASU in the Div. I era. The Mountaineers dropped to 11-19 overall with the loss.
Appalachian State put the first run on the board with back-to-back two-out hits to go ahead, 1-0. Dillon Dobson hit a double to the left field wall then came around to score on a single by Matt Brill to put the Mountaineers in front.
The Panthers nearly tied the game in the following half inning but junior Dane McDermott was thrown out from right field while trying to score on a single by freshman Josh Greene.
High Point loaded the bases in the fourth and pushed across four runs to move ahead by a score of 4-1. Juniors Spencer Angelis and Josh Spano both singled and junior Cody Manzella was walked to load the bases with one out. HPU then scored four runs on an infield single by junior Tony Fortier-Bensen, a bases-loaded hit batter, a fielder’s choice off the bat of McDermott and a swinging bunt by Brandenburg.
ASU tied the game at 4-4 with three runs in the fifth thanks to a bases-loaded walk by Josh Zumbrock and a two-run single by Tyler Stroup. The Mountaineers then took a 5-4 lead in the sixth with an RBI single by Brill.
Brandenburg tied the game back up at 5-5 in the seventh with a solo home run. The senior hit a long line drive on the first pitch that sailed over the wall in left field. The home run was Brandenburg’s first as a Panther.
Brandenburg went 4-5 with three RBI and a run scored in the win. Spano went 2-4 with an RBI and a run scored and Fortier-Bensen picked up both a run and an RBI.
Brill went 3-4 in the game with two RBI and a run scored for Appalachian State. Dobson finished 2-4 at the plate with two runs scored.
High Point continues its midweek road swing on Wednesday, April 9, when the team takes on Elon University in Burlington, N.C. High Point is 2-0 against Elon this season.