In a game that included a near three-hour rain delay, High Point came up short in their series opener against Jacksonville State, 10-4, on Saturday afternoon at Erath Field.

With the loss, HPU slips to 7-13 on the year having dropped their last three games. Jacksonville State improves to 5-8 this season. The two squads were have to played a pair of games on Saturday but due to heavy rains the pair will now play a doubleheader on Sunday starting at 12 noon.

JSU got on the board in the top of the first inning scoring a pair of runs. Nick Cleckler and Bert Smith both reached base to start the game and advanced on an HPU passed ball. Clay Whittemore plated Cleckler with a sacrifice fly and Brian Piazza drove Smith home with a single.

High Point answered with three runs in the home half of the first, opening the game with four straight singles.

The two starters then settled into a pitching duel over the next four innings with neither team mounting much offense.

In the sixth, the Gamecocks touched up HPU starter Eammon Portice (1-4) for four runs collecting five hits including a two-run homerun by pinch-hitter Ray Bearden in the frame.  Panther reliever Brandon Moore allowed a run in the seventh as JSU built their lead to 7-3.

Chris Norwood blasted a solo shot over the leftfield fence off Jacksonville State reliever Tony Drinkard in the bottom of the seventh to close the deficit. At that point the skies opened up forcing a delay in the action for two hours and forty minutes.

Following the break, Moore set the Gamecocks down in order in the eighth. High Point loaded the bases in the bottom half of the inning before JSU's Lee Drinkard worked out of the jam by striking out HPU pinch-hitter Chris Marks.

Jacksonville State plated a trio of insurance runs in the ninth inning to post the final 10-4 victory.

"We are our own worst enemy right now," said HPU head coach Sal Bando, Jr. "We have to figure out a way to get ourselves out of this funk we are in. We need to do a better job at everything from coaching on down. We like to pride ourselves on doing the little things but right now we aren't doing those things very well. At this point, I don't know if we are a bad team or a good team that is just playing bad."

Donovan Hand (2-2) earned the victory for the Gamecocks scattering eight hits over five innings and allowing just three runs in the first inning. Lee Drinkard earned his second save of the year working a pair of scoreless innings of relief. Portice took the loss pitching six innings and giving up seven hits, five earned runs while striking out five.

Norwood went 3-for-5 at the plate to pace the Panther offense scoring twice and hitting his fourth homer of the year. HPU's top four batters went 9-for-18 for the game scoring all of the teams runs.

JSU's Smith was 3-for-4 on the day while Cleckler scored three times and Eric Beck drove in three.

The two teams will meet each other twice on Sunday with HPU's Matt Christie (3-0) facing JSU's Matthew Darwin (1-1) in the first game and Panther Tom Boleska (0-4) going against Jon Clements (0-0) in the finale.