HIGH POINT, N.C. – High Point University baseball suffered its third loss of the week this Sunday, falling by a final of 10-2 to Gardner-Webb.
The Bulldogs took an early lead for the third time this series, opening up the afternoon’s scoring on a solo shot to left in the opening frame. The Panthers would respond quickly however, taking their first lead of the series in the bottom half of the first.
Freshman Brady Pearre opened up the frame with a six-pitch walk, before moving over into scoring position after GWU’s failed attempt at a fielder’s choice two at bats later. Senior Daniel Millwee drove in Pearre on the first of his two knocks while delivering a single to right, before Joe Johnson added HPU’s second run of the night on a sac fly to left.
With both sides going scoreless in the second, the remainder of the afternoon would belong to the Bulldogs, as the visitors hung nine unanswered runs for a final of 10-2.
The Panthers had opportunities to put runs on the board during the fourth after freshman Sam Zayicek led off the inning with a walk, that was followed up by a JJ Woodard single. A two-out single from Pearre would load the bases for the home team, but all three runners would go stranded, as the Panthers left a total of six men on base over the course of the evening.
Despite the Panther pitching staff giving up double-digit runs, righty reliever Grey Lyttle was credited with just a single run against over his 3.1 innings of work. The junior struck out four during his time on the hill, while the combination of senior Matt Hodges and freshman Bryan Woelfel kept GWU scoreless during the top half of the ninth.
>> Millwee and Woodard each went 2-for-4 at the plate on Sunday
>> Freshmen Pearre and Zayicek each collected a walk and a knock in this weekend’s finale
>> The Panthers’ conference record drops to 13-11 on the year, placing themselves in fifth overall, just one game ahead of the Bulldogs
COMING UP NEXT
The Panthers take on their third ACC opponent of 2019, traveling to UNC Chapel Hill for their final midweek contest of the season on May 14th. HPU is 1-2 against the ACC after defeating Wake Forest last week, but have not defeated the Tar Heels since 2009.