• High Point clinched its weekend series against Charleston Southern with a 4-1 win over the Buccaneers on Saturday.
• Freshman Drew Daczkowski threw a complete game, allowing just one run on five hits while striking out seven.
• Redshirt-senior Tim Mansfield finished 2-3 with a double and accounted for three of HPU’s four runs with two RBI and a run scored.
HIGH POINT, N.C. – Freshman Drew Daczkowski went the distance as the High Point University baseball team clinched its series over Charleston Southern with a 4-1 win on Saturday night at Williard Stadium.
“Drew Daczkowski was absolutely special on the mound tonight,” head coach Craig Cozart said. “He continued to get better as he went which is a sign of a really good pitcher. He came off the mound after the eighth inning and I looked at him and asked “Do you want this?” and he said absolutely. When a kid shows you that kind of confidence you want to feed into it. This was a big time situation and he showed he is capable of handling big moments. I am very proud of him.”
Daczkowski threw a career-best nine innings and allowed just one run on five hits and two walks while striking out seven to improve to 5-3 on the season. The complete game is the second of the season for the Panthers as senior Jeremy Johnson threw nine innings in a start against UNC Asheville on April 13.
Nik Constantakos took the loss for the Buccaneers and dropped to 3-3 on the season. Constantakos pitched four innings and allowed two earned runs on five hits and a walk while also striking out five.
The series win is HPU’s fifth in a row and its fourth-straight at home. High Point improves to 24-18 with the win and 11-9 in the Big South while Charleston Southern drops to 21-22 overall and 9-11 in conference play.
CSU got on the board first with a run in the top of the fourth on an RBI single by Jason Miller but High Point answered right back in the bottom of the frame, scoring two runs to go ahead, 2-1. Redshirt-senior Tim Mansfield started off the inning with a double and came around to score on a single by junior Blake Schunk. The HPU third baseman then scored the second run of the frame when he came home on a squeeze bunt by junior Hunter Lee.
The score remained 2-1 until the seventh inning when Mansfield came through with a bases-loaded single to double the Panthers’ run total, putting High Point in front by a score of 4-1.
Mansfield accounted for three of High Point’s four runs on the night, finishing 2-3 at the plate with a double, a walk, two RBI and a run scored.
The Panthers will try to complete their first weekend sweep of the season on Sunday, May 7, at Williard Stadium. First pitch in the game is set for 2 p.m.