HPU Baseball Two-Hits Liberty In 5-0 Win To Clinch Series

• High Point clinched a series win at Liberty with a 5-0 win over the Flames on Friday.
• The Panthers scored five runs in the eighth inning to break a 0-0 stalemate.
• Senior Conor Lourey and sophomore Andre Scrubb combined to allow just two hits while striking out 14 for HPU.

LYNCHBURG, Va. – The High Point University baseball team scored five runs in the eighth inning to break a 0-0 tie and claim a 5-0 win over Liberty on Friday night in Lynchburg, Va., Senior Conor Lourey and sophomore Andre Scrubb combined to allow just two hits on the night.

“We had a fun ballgame tonight where we had to put up a bunch of zeros until we had an offensive opportunity that we cashed in on,” head coach Craig Cozart said. “The sign of a good team is when you win games in different ways. Obviously we were special on the mound tonight and I am very excited we put up a zero in the errors column. I am proud we won the series but I think our guys are going to come out ready to compete for the sweep tomorrow.”

Senior Tony Fortier-Bensen led off the eighth inning with a single and senior Spencer Angelis earned a walk to put two on for the Panthers with no outs. After a sacrifice bunt by senior Dane McDermott advanced the runners, senior Brady Williamson hit a high chopper to score Fortier-Bensen and sophomore Chris Clare then drove in the second run with an RBI single. The Panthers loaded the bases with a walk by senior Josh Spano and sophomore Josh Greene then hit double to the wall in left, scoring two runs for the Panthers before freshman Carson Jackson drove in the final run of the frame with a sacrifice fly.

Greene finished the game 2-4 at the plate with two doubles and two RBI. Williamson and Clare both went 1-4 with an RBI and a run scored while Spano finished 1-3 with a walk and a run scored.

Liberty’s Victor Cole suffered the loss on the mound and dropped to 5-3 on the season. Cole pitched into the eighth inning and left with the score still tied 0-0, but both runners on base when he exited came in to score. The LU left-hander went 7-1/3 innings and gave up two earned runs on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts.

Lourey and Scrubb shut down the Liberty offense all night,as the two combined to allow just two hits and strikeout 14 Liberty batters in the win for HPU. Lourey started the game and pitched 5-2/3 innings, allowing one hit and two walks with seven strikeouts. Scrubb replaced Lourey and gave up just one hit in 3-2/3 innings while matching his career high with seven strikeouts. The sophomore earned the win and improved to 5-1 on the season.

The Flames’ best chance to score came in the sixth inning when a walk to Perritt and a double by Britt gave Liberty two runners in scoring position with one out. Scrubb escaped the jam with strikeouts of Alex Close and Becker Sankey to preserve the scoreless stalemate.

High Point improves to 27-23 overall and 14-9 in the Big South with the win over Liberty. The victory clinched a series win for the Panthers, the first by any road team at Liberty since 2012. The Flames drop to 32-21 overall and 15-8 in conference play with the loss.

HPU will go for its second weekend sweep of the season on Saturday, May 16, when the team takes on Liberty in the third and final game of the weekend at Liberty Baseball Stadium. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.