HPU Baseball Pulls Out A 10-7 Win At North Carolina A&T

• High Point swept its season series against North Carolina A&T with a 10-7 win on Wednesday night.
• Freshman Gage Rogers got the start and earned his first collegiate win for the Panthers, improving to 1-0 on the season.
• Senior Josh Spano and sophomore Josh Greene both had three hits and multiple RBI in the win.

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The High Point University baseball team claimed a 10-7 win over North Carolina A&T in midweek action on Wednesday night in Greensboro, N.C. Senior Josh Spano had three hits and three RBI in the win.

“We got the win tonight and that is what’s important,” head coach Criag Cozart. “We are looking forward to returning home this weekend and facing Coastal Carolina.”

Ten different HPU pitchers combined to allow just two earned run for HPU in the win. Freshman Gage Rogers started the game for High Point and got the result to improve to 1-0 on the season. Rogers pitched one shutout inning and allowed three hits. Fellow freshman Carson Jackson pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save, allowing just one walk.

Jordan Virgil took the loss for North Carolina A&T after giving up five earned runs on five hits and three walks over one-plus inning.

High Point improves to 17-14 with the win over North Carolina A&T while the Aggies drop to 3-28.

The Panthers put three runs on the board in the first to jump out to an early 3-0 lead. High Point loaded the bases for Jackson who hit a sacrifice fly to score Spano. Sophomore Josh Greene then followed with an RBI double to score two.

HPU added two runs to its lead in the following inning as senior Tony Fortier-Bensen and freshman Hunter Lee reached to leadoff the inning before Spano drove in both runners with an RBI double to put the Panthers up, 5-0.

After North Carolina A&T scored a run in the bottom of the second, HPU came back with a run in the fourth to push its lead to 6-1. Senior Cody Manzella hit a two-out RBI single to score Spano and put HPU ahead by five.

North Carolina A&T scored three runs with two outs in the fourth to close to within two at 6-4. Brandon Wilkerson drove in two runs with a double then scored on a triple by Milton Rivera.

High Point scored two runs in the sixth and one in the seventh to push its lead back to five at 9-4. Fortier-Bensen and Lee worked back-to-back walks to leadoff the sixth before a swinging bunt by Spano led to an error and a run scored. Senior Spencer Angelis then hit a sacrifice fly to score Lee. Fortier-Bensen drove in the run in the seventh with a sacrifice fly to score Greene.

The Aggies scored a run in the seventh and two runs in the eighth to pull to within two at 9-7 before High Point notched an insurance run in the ninth to make the final score 10-7. Greene led off the ninth with a triple and scored on an RBI single by sophomore Chris Clare.

Spano went 3-6 at the plate with a double, three RBI and two runs scored. Greene finished 3-5 on the night with a double, a triple, two RBI and two runs scored. Manzella also finished with multiple hits in the contest, going 2-5 with an RBI and a run scored.

The Panthers return home this weekend when they will host No. 22 Coastal Carolina in a three-game weekend series beginning on Friday, April 10, at 7 p.m. HPU took two of three games against the Chanticleers at Williard Stadium last season and is now 10-33 against CCU in the Div. I era.