• High Point swept its doubleheader at Presbyterian College on Saturday, claiming the weekend series two games to one.
• The Panthers won the first game by a score of 3-2 then came back with a 13-1 win in the second game of the day.
• HPU got two good starts from its freshman pitchers as Drew Daczkowski went a career-high 7-1/3 innings with seven strikeouts and Trevor Holloway threw five shutout innings with six strikeouts.
CLINTON, S.C. – The High Point University baseball team swept a Saturday doubleheader at Presbyterian College to take the weekend series two games to one in Clinton, S.C. The Panthers won the first game, 3-2, then clinched the series with a 13-1 win in the second game.
“What our guys did today was special,” head coach Craig Cozart said. “To sweep a doubleheader on the road against the first-place team in the league is really difficult. So many guys stepped up in big situations on the field and we had tremendous energy in the dugout all day. This was truly a group effort and I am extremely proud of this team.”
The sweep of the doubleheader is High Point’s first this season in four tries and it improves the team’s record to 22-17 overall and 9-9 in the Big South with the sweep while Presbyterian College drops to 21-21 and 9-6 in conference play.
GAME ONE
Freshman Drew Daczkowski pitched a career high 7-1/3 innings to pick up his fourth win of the season as the Panthers won the first game on Saturday by a score of 3-2.
Daczkowski allowed just two runs, one earned, on three hits and a walk while striking out seven and improved to 4-3 for the season. Sophomore Matt Hodges got the final five outs, two by strikeout to earn the save, his fourth of the season.
Tanner Chock took the loss for the Blue Hose and dropped to 1-5 on the season. Chock pitched six innings and allowed three runs, two earned, on five hits and four walks while striking out four.
The Panthers scored the first three runs of the contest with a single run in the first, third and fourth innings. Junior Zack Gray put HPU on the board in the opening frame with an RBI single to drive in redshirt-senior Tim Mansfield.
Two innings later, junior Blake Schunk scored when a fly ball of the bat of junior Hunter Lee was dropped in the outfield. The final High Point run came home in the fourth when an error on a sacrifice bunt by Mansfield allowed senior Josh Greene to score from third.
GAME TWO
High Point scored four runs in the first two innings and never looked back as the Panthers clinched the series with a 13-1 win in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader. Greene finished 3-5 in the contest with three RBI and two runs scored for HPU.
Freshman Trevor Holloway earned the win for the Panthers and improved to 3-4 on the season. The right-hander pitched five shutout innings, allowing just three hits and three walks while striking out six.
Hunter Deal was charged with the loss after allowing seven runs, six earned, on eight hits and a walk while striking out five.
Greene got the scoring started for High Point in the first with a two-run single to drive in both Mansfield and sophomore Conner Dunbar as the Panthers took an early 2-0 lead.
HPU doubled its lead one inning later when junior Austen Zente scored on a throwing error after a wild pitch and Schunk drove in Mansfield with an RBI single.
The High Point lead remains 4-0 until the sixth inning when both Zente and sophomore JJ Woodard delivered two-run doubles to extend the Panther lead to 8-0.
After a run by the hosts in the seventh, High Point answered back with five runs in the eighth to push the lead to 13-1. Dunbar got the scoring started with a sacrifice fly to drive in Woodard. A wild pitch allowed junior Jordan Sergent to score the second run of the frame ahead of three-straight RBI singles by Greene, junior Carson Jackson and Lee.
Five different HPU players recorded multiple hits in the win. In addition to Greene’s three hits, Jackson finished 3-5 with an RBI and a run scored, Zente finished 2-5 with two RBI and two runs scored, Schunk went 2-6 with an RBI and Lee went 2-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
The 13 runs scored by the Panthers are the most scored by the team in a game this season. High Point’s previous game high this season was 12 runs scored in a 10-inning win at Davidson back in February.
The Panthers play two midweek contest this coming week starting with a home game against North Carolina A&T on Tuesday, April 25, at Williard Stadium. High Point took the first game of the teams’ home-and-home series with a 9-5 win in Greensboro, N.C., on April 4. First pitch in the games is set for 6 p.m.