• High Point dropped a pitchers’ duel at Winthrop by a score of 3-2 on Saturday.
• Despite the loss, the Panthers still claimed the series win on the weekend, two games to one.
• Senior Josh Spano provided the HPU offense with two solo home runs.
ROCK HILL, S.C. – The High Point University baseball team lost a pitchers’ duel to Winthop by a score of 3-2 on Saturday afternoon in Rock Hill, S.C. Senior Josh Spano provided all of HPU’s offense with two solo home runs on the day.
“Today was pretty simple, we just couldn’t generate enough offensive opportunities,” head coach Craig Cozart said. “Crohan was very good for seven innings. We got down in the first third of the game and unfortunately only generated two solo home runs. That’s how baseball is sometimes. Still this is a solid series win on the road.”
Redshirt-junior Scot Hoffman took the loss on the mound for High Point and dropped to 2-4 on the season after giving up three earned runs in 2-1/3 innings of work Hoffman gave up four hits and a walk while striking out one. Senior Conor Lourey relieved Hoffman and threw 5-1/3 shutout innings, giving up three hits and three walks and striking out three.
Matt Crohan earned the win for Winthrop to improve to 4-3 on the season. Crohan pitched 7-1/3 innings and allowed two earned runs on four hits and a walk while striking out eight. Travis Shelly got the save for the Eagles with 1-2/3 shutout innings of relief.
High Point falls to 16-14 overall and 6-3 in the Big South with the loss. WU moves to 20-12 overall and 3-6 in conference play.
Winthrop scored the first run of the day in the second inning to take a 1-0 lead. Clay Altman hit a sacrifice bunt with runners at the corners to score Brad Kaczka, who had reached with a single through the infield.
The Eagles added two more runs in the third to extend its lead to 3-0. Anthony Paulsen drove in a run with an RBI double and Roger Gonzalez got an RBI with groundout to second.
Spano got the Panthers on the board with his first home run of the day in the fourth to make the score 3-1. The HPU catcher struck again in the sixth with his second home run of the day to pull HPU within one at 3-2.
The two home runs for Spano matches his single-game high. He previously hit two home runs in a win over Winthrop last season. He is the second Panther to hit two home runs in a game this season after sophomore Josh Greene accomplished the feat at the College of Charleston.
High Point wraps up its current nine-game road trip with a midweek game at North Carolina A&T on Wednesday, April 8, in Greensboro, N.C. First pitch in the game is set for 6 p.m.