• High Point lost on the road against #13 North Carolina by a score of 8-1 on Tuesday night.
• The Panthers fell behind early, giving up five runs in the first inning.
• Junior Chris Clare went 3-3 on the day with a double and an RBI for HPU.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The High Point University baseball fell at #13 North Carolina by a score of 8-1 on Tuesday night in Chapel Hill, N.C. Junior Chris Clare had three hits, including an RBI double, in the loss.
“We walked 13 and were struck out 14 times and you aren’t going to win any ballgames that way,” head coach Craig Cozart said. “This was a pretty weak all-around performance.”
Freshman Cooper Jeffers took his first loss at High Point after allowing five runs in just one-third of an inning and dropped to 2-1 for the season. Jeffers got the first batter out then proceeded to give up three hits and four walks.
Spencer Trayner pitched 1-1/3 innings out of the bullpen to earn the win for the Tar Heels and improve to 2-0. Trayner allowed one hit and struck out two.
High Point drops to 20-9 overall with the loss while North Carolina improves to 21-7.
North Carolina took advantage of Jeffers’ wild outing to score five times in the first inning. The first run came on an RBI triple by Tyler Ramirez who then scored the second run on a single by Logan Warmoth. The Tar Heels loaded the bases and scored two more runs on walks and the fifth on a wild pitch.
The Panthers got on the board with a run in the fifth inning, making the score 5-1. Sophomore Hunter Lee reached on an error with two outs and stole second before scoring on an RBI double by Clare.
The Tar Heels added a run in the seventh on an RBI double by Brian Miller and two in the eighth on a wild pitch and a throwing error by Spencer Brown to make the final score 8-1.
Clare reached in all four of his trips to the plate, going 3-3 with a double and a walk. Junior Drew Fopeano was the only other HPU player to get a hit in the contest, finishing 1-3 on the day.
High Point returns home and returns to Big South play this weekend with a three-game series against Longwood starting on Friday, April 8, at 6 p.m., in Williard Stadium.