HPU baseball shuts out Davidson in 7-0 win

• High Point completed its season sweep of Davidson with a 7-0 home win over the Wildcats on Tuesday.
• Nine HPU pitchers combined to throw a five-hit shutout.
• All but one Panther starter recorded a hit in the win led by junior Carson Jackson who went 2-4 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University baseball team allowed just five hits in a shutout win over Davidson as the Panthers completed a season sweep of Wildcats with a 7-0 victory over the Wildcats on Tuesday evening at Williard Stadium.

“This was arguably our most complete game of the season,” head coach Craig Cozart said. “I have to give our players credit because we threw some new things at them and they committed to it. We played good offensive baseball and that is what we are capable of. On the mound, to be able to roll nine guys out there and get a shutout is fantastic. Davidson is a tremendous offensive club so I am very proud of the guys.”

Nine HPU pitchers combined to allow just five hits and two walks over nine shutout innings against Davidson. Sophomore Matt Hodges got the win after allowing just one hit and striking out one in two innings of work.

Josh Hudson got the start for Davidson and lasted just 2-1/3 innings. The right-hander dropped to 1-1 on the season after allowing six runs, four earned, on seven hits and two walks.

The Panthers move back over .500 on the season with the win, improving to 10-9 overall. Davidson drops to 11-8 in 2017 with the loss.

High Point put up four runs in the first to take an early lead over the Wildcats. Redshirt-senior Tim Mansfield drove in Junior Austen Zente with the first run of the game. After a single by junior Jordan Sergent, juniors Carson Jackson, Hunter Lee and Blake Schunk hit three-straight RBI doubles to push the HPU lead to 4-0.

The Panthers tacked on two more runs in the third on a bases-loaded walk by sophomore JJ Woodard and a sacrifice fly by sophomore Conner Dunbar then added another run in the fourth on an RBI single by Mansfield to extend the High Point lead to 7-0.

Eight High Point starters recorded at least one hit in the win. Jackson, Schunk and senior Josh Greene all had multiple hits in the contest as Jackson finished 2-4 with an RBI and two runs scored, Schunk finished 2-3 with an RBI and Greene finished 2-5 with a run scored. Mansfield went 1-2 and had a team-high two RBI in his return to the lineup.

The Panthers return to conference play this weekend with a three-game road series at Winthrop starting on Friday, March 24. First pitch in the series opener is set for 6 p.m.