HPU Baseball Loses At No. 8 South Carolina, 11-3

• High Point lost at No. 8 South Carolina by a score of 11-3 on Wednesday in Columbia, S.C.
• Senior Dane McDermott went 1-3 with a walk, two RBI and a run scored.
• Sophomore Chris Clare and freshman Hunter Lee both scored for the Panthers in the loss.

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The High Point University baseball team fell on the road at No. 8 South Carolina by a score of 11-3 on Wednesday night in Columbia, S.C. Senior Dane McDermott played a role in all three HPU runs with two RBI and a run scored.

Sophomore Peter Ripke took the loss for the Panthers in his first start of the season. Ripke pitched just one inning and allowed six runs on five hits and two walks.

Preston Johnson pitched 3-2/3 scoreless innings of relief to earn the win and improve to 1-0. Johnson did not allow a base runner and recorded five strikeouts.

High Point falls to 2-8 on the season with the loss to South Carolina. The eighth-ranked Gamecocks improve to 9-3 in 2015.

South Carolina took a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first as Kyle Martin and Max Schrock both connected for two-run home runs. Gene Cone earned a leadoff walk then scored on the Martin home run and Alex Destino singled before scoring on Schrock’s home run.

USC continued to increase its lead in the second with a bases-loaded single by Destino to score Marcus Mooney and Cone and a sacrifice fly by Schrock to score Elliot Caldwell.

High Point got on the board in the third inning on a bases-loaded single by McDermott. The single drove in freshman Hunter Lee and sophomore Chris Clare to pull HPU to within five at 7-2.

South Carolina added three runs in the third on RBI singles by Caldwell and Martin and a run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Mooney.

The Panthers got a run back in the top of the fifth with an RBI groundout by senior Tony Fortier-Bensen that brought home McDermott to make the score 11-3.

Senior Conor Lourey and redshirt-junior Joe Goodman pitched the final three innings for the Panthers and combined for four strikeouts while allowing just two walks.

McDermott went 1-3 with a walk, two RBI and a run scored for High Point. Lee went 1-2 with a run scored and drew two walks while Clare went 1-4 with a run scored.

The middle of the South Carolina order combined for six hits and nine RBI in the contest. Martin went 2-4 with a run scored and four RBI, Destino went 3-5 with two RBI and a run scored and Schrock went 1-2 with three RBI and a run scored.

High Point returns home to host LIU Brooklyn in a three-game weekend series beginning on Friday, March 6. The series will open with a game on Friday at 4 p.m., followed by games on Saturday at 2 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m.