Site: High Point, N.C. (Williard Stadium)
Score: High Point 9, Longwood 2
W: David Keith (1-0), L: Dylan Saale (1-2)
Records: HPU 6-7 (4-3 Big South), LWU 7-8 (1-3 Big South)
Next HPU Event: Friday, March 19 — at USC Upstate (Spartanburg, S.C.), 4 p.m.
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University baseball team won its first midweek game of the season with a 9-2 victory over Longwood University on Tuesday afternoon (March 16).
Cole Singsank continued his strong performance from the weekend with a pair of doubles and 3 RBIs, making it five doubles in his last four games. Joe Johnson provided some pop from the left side of the plate, hitting his second home run of the season with a two-run shot in the fifth.
Freshman David Keith got the win in his first career start, and made it a quality start at that, only allowing two runs and two hits with four walks and six strikeouts in 6.0 innings of work. The Panthers’ bullpen had little problem sealing the deal in the final three innings, with CJ Neese and Mason Kearney combining to face only 10 batters to get the final nine outs of the game.
Both teams only had one hit through the first three innings of play in a scoreless game before Longwood started the scoring in the fourth. Two runners were on with one out after a hit batter and both advanced into scoring position on a groundout to the pitcher. The runner on third came around to score on a wild pitch from Keith, who then recovered to strike out the batter for the final out of the inning and leave another run at third.
High Point immediately responded in the bottom of the inning, putting up a pair to take the lead for good. Johnson drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third when Singsank hit his first double of the day. Both runners advanced 90 feet on a Longwood balk, scoring Johnson to even things up. Singsank came around to score in the next at bat when Blake Sutton hit one up the middle, one of two hits on the day for the catcher.
After a 1-2-3 inning from Keith with two strikeouts, the Panthers added some insurance runs, scoring three more in the fifth. Zayicek had an infield single and advanced to second on a throwing error and then took third on a sac bunt. He came around to score two pitches later when Brady Pearre put one into left for his only hit of the game. One pitch later Pearre was trotting home when Johnson sent one over the wall in left-center for the two-run shot to make it 5-1.
Longwood scored its only other run of the game in the seventh, getting the inning going with back-to-back walks. Neese came on to relieve Keith after that and hit his first batter, setting up a sac fly to bring home the second run.
HPU scored three more in the bottom of the seventh when Singsank cleared the bases with a three-RBI double. Trevor Omahen had a one-out single for his first sit of the season and then a pair of walks with an out in between loaded the bases for Singsank. He found the gap in right-center to score all three and later came around himself when Sutton singled through the right side of the infield. That was the rest of the offense in the game as each team went down in order in the eighth and ninth innings.
High Point hits the road for the first time this season this weekend when the Panthers travel to Spartanburg, S.C. to face USC Upstate, who currently sits half a game ahead of HPU in the standings. Friday’s game (March 19) is scheduled for 4 p.m. while the teams are slated for a doubleheader on Saturday (March 20), starting a 1 p.m.