HPU Baseball Rolls To A 13-2 Win At East Carolina

• High Point moved over .500 on the season with a 13-2 win at East Carolina on Wednesday.
• Junior Michael Hennessey got the win in his first HPU start with seven scoreless innings of work.
• Sophomore Josh Greene went 1-3 with three RBI, three runs scored and his team-best fourth home run of the season.

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The High Point University baseball team moved over .500 for the first time this season with a 13-2 win at East Carolina on Wednesday night in Greenville, N.C. The Panther offense continued to roll with 13 runs on 14 hits in the win.

“Tonight is special because this is a difficult place to come and win,” head coach Craig Cozart said. “East Carolina is a quality club, but we are playing really good baseball right now. That being said, we have to remain hungry. Michael Hennessey was special tonight and our lineup was really clicking. When we perform like we are offensively we are hard to deal with.”

Junior Michael Hennessey got his first start for HPU and earned the win, improving to 1-2 on the season. Hennessey pitched seven scoreless innings and allowed five hits and four walks while striking out two.

Jimmy Boyd took the loss on the mound for the Pirates to fall to 2-6. Boyd pitched just two innings and gave up five runs, three earned, on five hits.

The Panthers move to 12-11 overall on the season with the win over East Carolina. HPU is 10-3 in its past 13 games after starting the season at 2-8. East Carolina drops to 16-10 with the loss.

High Point scored five runs in the top of the second to jump out to a 5-0 lead over the Pirates. Sophomore Chris Clare hit an RBI single to drive in the first run and the Panthers scored a second when senior Brady Williamson came home on a throwing error. Clare scored HPU’s third run of the frame when he stole home on a pickoff attempt at first. Freshman Hunter Lee singled in senior Tony Fortier-Bensen for the fourth run then scored the final run of the frame on a double by senior Cody Manzella.

Freshman Carson Jackson scored in the third to push the HPU lead to 6-0. The freshman earned a walk and advanced to third on two wild pitches before scoring on a passed ball.

The Panthers continued to extend its lead with two runs in the top of the fifth to go ahead, 8-0. Senior Spencer Angelis led off the inning with a double and scored on an RBI single by Jackson. The second HPU run of the frame came when sophomore Josh Greene scored on a wild pitch.

Lee scored again in the sixth to push the High Point lead to 9-0. The freshman led off the inning with a single and moved to third on a hit-and-run single by senior Josh Spano before scoring on a double play.

High Point added four more runs in the top of the eighth with three coming on Greene’s fourth home run of the season. The first Panther run scored on a groundout by Jackson. Greene then drove in Angelis and Spano with a deep shot over the wall in right to extend HPU’s lead to 13-0.

East Carolina got on the board with two runs in the eighth on an RBI single by Jackson Mims, making the score 13-2.

All nine HPU starters reached base with eight scoring at least one run. Greene finished 1-3 with a walk, a home run, three RBI and three runs scored. Angelis finished 3-5 with two runs and Lee went 2-5 with three runs scored. Spano, Manzella and Jackson all finished with two hits in the win with Jackson adding two RBI and a run scored.

High Point continues its current nine-game road swing this weekend when it travels to Farmville, Va., to take on Big South foe Longwood in a three-game series beginning on Friday, March 27. First pitch on Friday is set for 6 p.m.