• High Point lost at North Carolina Central by a score of 14-1 on Tuesday.
• Junior Luke Parker hit a solo home run for the Panthers’ only run.
• This is just the second time all season that HPU has dropped back-to-back games.
DURHAM, N.C. – The High Point University baseball team fell at North Carolina Central by a score of 14-1 on Tuesday night in Durham, N.C. Junior Luke Parker hit a solo home run for the Panthers’ only run in the loss.
“First of all you have to give North Carolina Central a lot of credit,” head coach Craig Cozart said. “They came out and played with a ton of aggression and confidence. I cannot remember a time when we were less competitive on the mound and equally inept at the plate. Tonight’s effort was embarrassing. We have two days until we head to Maryland and we are going to get things straight real quick.”
Senior Michael Hennessey gave up four runs on five hits in one inning of work to take the loss for High Point, falling to 2-2 on the season.
Chris Gonnelli picked up the win on the mound for North Carolina Central and improved to 2-1 for the season. Gonnelli allowed just one earned run on six hits and struck out nine in seven innings of work.
High Point dropped consecutive games for just the second time in 2016 and fall to 18-7 overall. North Carolina Central improved to 13-13 with the win.
Central scored four in the first, three in the second and four in the third to take an 11-0 lead over the Panthers. Carlos Ortiz, Zachary Marszal, Conrad Kovalcik and Trevor Theissen all picked up RBI in the first, Marszal hit a three-run home run in the second and James Dey hit a grand slam in the third.
Parker drove in High Point’s only run of the night with a solo home run in the sixth inning. Parker pinch hit for junior Josh Greene and hit a high shot over the short wall in right for his first HPU home run.
The Eagles tacked on three runs in the seventh on a bases-loaded triple by Tom Prospero to bring the final score to 14-1.
High Point heads to Maryland this weekend for a three-game series against the Terrapins of the University of Maryland beginning on Friday, April 1, at 4 p.m. It is the final non-conference weekend series of the season for the Panthers.