Silber Sets Strikeout Record In HPU Baseball’s 6-4 Win At Longwood

FARMVILLE, Va. – Freshman Cas Silber set an HPU Div. I single-game record with 13 strikeouts in High Point University baseball’s 6-4 win over Longwood on Friday night in Farmville, Virginia. HPU clinched its fifth conference series of the season with the win over the Lancers.

“Today was a very impressive effort by Cas Silber,” head coach Craig Cozart said. “To throw six innings split by bad weather in the middle and have the dominant stuff he did was just great. I was pleased with our offensive approach and Brady Williamson had a huge game for us. I am proud of the way the team handled the adversity presented by the weather. We have to come out with the intent to sweep tomorrow.”

Silber pitched a career-high six shutout innings, allowing three hits and two walks to improve to 4-0 on the season. The freshman’s 13 strikeouts best the previous HPU record of 12, which was accomplished five times, last by Bubba O’Donnell in 2008. Senior John Maloney pitched the final 1-1/3 innings to earn his ninth save of the season. As a team, High Point struck out 17 batters, tying the program’s Div. I record which was set against Radford in 2012.

Brandon Vick took the loss for Longwood after allowing six runs, three earned, in 5-1/3 innings of work. Vick allowed six hits and two walks while striking out three to fall to 4-7 on the season.

High Point improved to 27-19 overall and 14-9 in the Big South with Saturday’s win. Longwood dropped to 20-30 overall and 8-15 in conference action.

Junior Brady Williamson put the Panthers on the board in the third inning with his first home run of the season to give HPU a 2-0 lead. Williamson got a hold of an 0-1 pitch and hit a hard shot over the wall in left. Freshman Chris Clare reached on an error and scored on the home run.

After a 98-minute rain delay between the third and fourth innings, Williamson extended HPU’s lead again with a solo home run in the fifth to put the Panthers ahead, 3-0. The left fielder swung at the first pitch he saw and hit a deep shot over the wall in left for his second home run of the day.

Williamson is the second High Point player to record two home runs in game during the 2014 season. Junior Josh Spano hit two home runs in a home win over Winthrop on April 18. Prior to that game HPU’s last multi home run game came in 2011 when Ryan Retz hit two against VCU.

High Point scored three times in the sixth to double its lead to 6-0. The Panthers scored one run on a swinging bunt by junior Dane McDermott then added two more on a single to right by Williamson.

Williamson finished the game going 3-5 at the plate with two home runs, five RBI and two runs scored.

Longwood scored its first run of the game in the eighth with an RBI single by Travis Biddix. The Lancers put two men on with two outs with a walk by Scott Burkett and a single by Alex Owens. Biddix pinch hit for Longwood and hit a single through the right side to score Burkett from second.

The Lancers took advantage of an error by Senior Kyle Brandenburg to score three unearned runs with two outs in the ninth, making the final score 6-4. Alex Lewis drove in the first run with an RBI double and was followed by an RBI double from Owens, which scored the other two runs.

High Point will try and complete its sweep of Longwood when the teams meet for the third and final game of the series on Sunday, May 11, at 1 p.m., in Farmville, Virginia. Freshman Andre Scrubb will start on the mound for the Panthers as they got for their third weekend sweep of the season.