Box Score High Point rallied from a 5-1 deficit to push six runs across in the fifth inning and held on for a 7-6 victory over Triad rival Wake Forest Tuesday afternoon at Erath Field.

The Panthers recorded their second win in six days over an Atlantic Coast Conference team. HPU downed Duke, 2-1, last Wednesday, behind Tuesday starter Josh Cotten.

Cotten (3-4) went six innings to pick up his third win of the season. Josh Ellis (1-3) took the loss for the Demon Deacons. Clayton Gordner notched his second save of the year in relief.

HPU improves to 11-41, while the Demon Deacons dip to 17-29.

The Deacs jumped on Cotten early for three runs in the first and two in the second to race to a 5-0 lead. Brad Scioletti hit a three-run homer in the first which scored Matt Antonelli and Ben Ingold, and Antonelli scored Matt Miller with an RBI single and Ingold plated Casey Sterk on a fielders' choice in the second.

HPU countered with a run in the bottom of the third off Ellis. Anthony Bell led off with a bunt single, advanced to second on a throwing error, moved to third on a groundout and scored on an RBI grounder by Rey Rojas to pull within 5-1.

The Panthers sent 10 men to the plate and scored six times in the bottom of the fifth to surge in front, 7-5. Mark Shorey began the rally by reaching on a fielding error and advanced to third on a Bell double. He scored the inning's first run on a single by Matt Richardson, and Rojas' infield hit which followed scored Bell.

With one out, Chris Ramirez's sacrifice fly scored Richardson, and back-to-back doubles by Seby Renta and Chris Draska drove home Rojas and Renta.

After Sean Souders relieved Ellis, Corey Stang ripped a triple to deep left center, scoring Draska and giving the Panthers a 7-5 advantage.

Wake clawed within 7-6 in the top of the seventh on Scioletti's RBI single that scored Nick Blue, but HPU relievers Bob Helman and Gordner combined for three innings of shutout relief to help the Panthers beat the Deacons for the first time since the 2001 season.

Ellis allowed seven runs -- but just one earned -- in 4 2/3 innings of work. Cotten scattered nine hits and six runs over six innings to earn the win.

Rojas, Renta, Stang, and Bell each had a pair of hits for the Panthers, while Blue, Scioletti and J.B. Tucker did the same for Wake.

Before the game, the Panthers honored nine seniors: Draska, Gordner, Jayson Hoffman, Matt Kniginyzky, Phil Leake, Travis Motsinger, Brent Myers, Rojas, and John Wanger.

HPU finishes up the regular season with a three-game weekend series at Coastal Carolina beginning Friday (6:00 pm).