McGillicuddy Pitches A Complete-Game Shutout In HPU Baseball’s 6-0 Win Over Winthrop

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Junior John McGillicuddy pitched a three-hit complete-game shutout to lead the High Point University baseball team to a 6-0 win over Winthrop in the opening game of a three-game series on Thursday night at Williard Stadium. The complete-game shutout was the second of the season for McGillicuddy.

“This was one of the cleanest games we have played this season,” head coach Craig Cozart said. “John McGillicuddy pitched a great game to pick up his second complete-game shutout of the season. Defensively we made a lot of very good plays and offensively we had a really solid approach at the plate. We did a really good job of coming up with big two-out RBIs. This is extaly how we wanted to open up this series.”

McGillicuddy improved the 4-2 on the season with the complete-game victory. The junior allowed just three hits and four walks over his nine innings of work while also striking out two. The right-hander needed just 114 pitches to complete the game despite throwing 25 in the first inning. McGillicuddy also threw a complete-game shutout in a win over Coastal Carolina on March 14.

Sam Kmiec took the loss for Winthrop, dropping to 4-3 on the season, Kmiec allowed six runs, five earned, on 11 hits and walk while striking out three in 4-1/3 innings of work. The redshirt-sophomore entered the game having allowed just 60 hits in 62-2/3 inning pitched.

The win over Winthrop was just HPU’s second ever at Williard Stadium and its first since 2003. The Panthers improve to 21-16 overall and 9-7 in the Big South with the win while Winthrop drops to 18-23 overall and 9-7 in the Big South.

High Point scored the first run of the game in the first with back-to-back two-out hits by freshman Josh Greene and junior Spencer Angelis. Greene hit a double to the wall in right-center and then came around to score on a single by Angelis.

The Panthers doubled their lead in the third on an RBI single by junior Josh Spano. Junior Dane McDermott singled to lead off the inning and came around to score on the Spano single.

HPU continued to extend its lead with another run in the fourth, going up 3-0. Freshman Chris Clare singled with a hard shot at the pitcher and took third when Kmiec threw the ball away on the play. The freshman then came home on an RBI single by McDermott.

High Point scored three runs on five singles in the fifth to double its lead to 6-0. Greene and Angelis opened the inning with back-to-back singles and came around to score on RBI singles by juniors Brady Williamson and Cody Manzella. After a Winthrop pitching change, Clare drove in Williamson for the third run of the frame.

McGillicuddy allowed just four Winthrop base runners in the final four innings. The junior finished the game recording 13 groundball outs, including a double play in the seventh, HPU’s conference-best 40th of the season.

McDermott, Greene, Angelis and Clare all finished with two hits in the game for the Panthers. McDermott, Angelis and Clare all picked up and RBI and a run scored while Greene scored twice in the win.

Winthrop’s TJ Olesczuk had two of Winthrop’s three hits in the game, finishing the day 2-4 at the plate with a double. The Eagles’ centerfielder was the only WU player to reach third on the day, doing it in the first and ninth innings.

High Point and Winthrop will return to Williard Stadium for the second game of their three-game conference series on Friday, April 18, at 4 p.m. Senior Mike Krumm will start on the mound for the Panthers as HPU tries to clinch its fourth conference series of the season.