Ben Hunter recorded eight strikeouts in his collegiate debut to lead Furman to a 13-6 win over High Point in baseball action Sunday afternoon in Greenville, S.C.

High Point rallied with a Josh Cotten three-run home run in the eighth inning off Paladin reliever Nick Holstegge to get within 8-6, but Furman squelched the comeback bid with five runs in the bottom of the frame to claim the rubber game of the three-game series.

Chris Ramirez led HPU (1-5) with two hits. Bob Helman (0-1) was saddled with the loss despite allowing just three earned runs in five innings.

Hunter yielded five hits, two walks, and two earned runs before exiting the contest with Furman ahead 8-3.

Furman's A.J. Davidiuk paced the Paladins' 21-hit attack by going 3-for-6 with four RBI, and, in the process, extended his school record consecutive game hitting streak to 25 games. Andrew Greene, Tony Maccani, and Joey Rodgers also collected three hits each for Furman. 

High Point jumped on top with a run in the first when Josh Doane doubled, stole third, and came home on a throwing error by Maccani.

Furman struck for two runs in the second on an RBI single by Greene and a double play ground out by Davidiuk that plated Maccani.

High Point tied the game at 2-2 in the third on an RBI single by  Jeremy Neyra, but Furman answered with a run in the bottom of the frame after Matthew Betsill drew a leadoff walk and came around to score when Panther third baseman Matt Christie's throw bounced past first baseman Seby Renta.

The Paladins upped their advantage to 4-2 in the fourth on a ground out by Davidiuk that plated Rodgers.

After High Point made it 4-3 in the fifth on an RBI single by Ramirez that plated Christie, Furman used five hits and a pair of Panther errors to push four runs across in the bottom of inning off Helman for an 8-3 lead.

The Panthers pulled to within two on Cotten's three-run home run to center field before David Mitchell struck out Ramirez with runners at second and third to end the threat.

Davidiuk's two-run single highlighted Furman's decisive five-run eighth inning.

The Panthers host Elon Tuesday afternoon (2:30 pm) in their 2005 home opener.