HPU Baseball Drops Series To Liberty With 8-1 Loss

LYNCHBURG, Va. – The High Point University baseball team fell to Liberty by a score of 8-1 on Saturday afternoon in Lynchburg, Va. The Panthers were limited to three hits in the loss.

“We got beat in every aspect of the game today,” head coach Craig Cozart said. “We have to figure out a way to scrap a win tomorrow. That will keep up in position to do the things we want to do this season.”

Senior Mike Krumm took the loss to drop to 3-3 on the season. Krumm pitched 5-1/3 innings and allowed five runs on five hits and four walks while striking out one.

Carson Herndon improved to 3-1 on the mound for LU with the win. Herndon pitched six innings and allowed just one run on three hits and a walk while striking out four.

High Point drops to 12-10 overall and 2-3 in the Big South with the loss. Liberty improved to 17-7 overall and 4-1 in conference play.

Liberty jumped out to a 4-0 lead, scoring once in the second inning and three times in the third. Ashton Perritt picked up the RBI in the second with a single to score Dylan Allen. In the third, the Flames scored the first run on a sacrifice fly by Dalton Britt then got two more on a bases-loaded double by Danny Grauer.

LU added a fifth run in the sixth inning with an inside-the-park home run by Grauer on a drive to the wall in right-center. Freshman Josh Greene chased the ball down and appeared to make the catch but collided with the wall and was unable to hold onto the ball.

High Point scored its first run of the game in the top of the seventh inning to make the score 5-1. Sophomore Tim Mansfield and freshman Alex Gross both singled and junior Spencer Angelis was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs for the Panthers. Freshman Chris Clare hit into a double play for the first two outs but Mansfield scored on the play to put HPU on the board.

Liberty came right back with three runs in the bottom of the frame to open an 8-1 lead. Becker Sankey hit a two-run double just inside the third base bag and Alex Close hit a sacrifice fly.

The Panthers will try and avoid a weekend sweep in the third and final game of the series on Sunday, March 22, in Lynchburg, Va. Freshman Andre Scrubb will make his sixth start of the season on the mound for HPU. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.