High Point rallied from a 2-0 deficit and Clayton Gordner pitched 3 2/3 strong innings of relief as the Panthers beat North Carolina A&T, 6-4, Friday afternoon at Erath Field.

HPU improved to 2-4 with the win, while the Aggies slipped to 2-8.

Panther starter Matt Kniginyzky allowed an unearned run in each of the first two innings. A&T 's Stewart McClintock and Jeffrey King accounted for those runs to give the Aggies a 2-0 advantage.

High Point rallied for a pair of runs to tie the score at 2-2 in the fourth inning. Rey Rojas reached on an error and went to third, Ken Keesee drew a walk, and Chris Draska's RBI groundout scored Rojas. After Aggie starter Brian Witt got Nick Thompson to fly out, Kemp Smith reached on a throwing error by Eric Jones, which plated Keesee and tied the game.

The Aggies rallied to re-take the lead in the top of the fifth with a pair, and HPU responded with a single run in both the fifth and sixth to tie things up again.

As Clayton Gordner was shutting down A&T's bats, the Panther offense came through for two runs in the bottom of the seventh which provided the winning margin.With one out, Draska singled, and after Thompson flied out, Smith drew a walk, and Brent Myers singled home Draska. With Jayson Hoffman at the plate, Myers took off for second, and Smith sprinted home and beat the throw back from second base.

Freshmen Toby Hoskins and Mark Shorey combined for the final three outs, and Shorey picked up his first career save.

Gordner picked up the win after allowing just one hit, no runs and fanning five in 3 2/3 innings of work.

"We gave Clayton the game ball," HPU head coach Sal Bando said. "But we're  struggling to score runs right now. We're beating ourselves at the plate, on the mound and making crucial errors when we shouldn't.

"But the thing I like about these guys is that it would have been easy for them to hang their heads. Instead, they were resilient and found a way to win."

With freezing rain in the forecast for Sunday, the Panthers and Aggies will make up the series-finale at a later date. HPU will be back in action Wednesday at home against UNC Greensboro (2:30 pm).