The High Point University baseball team fell 14-0 in the series opener against the University of South Florida on Friday night at Red McEwen Field.

The Panthers (2-2) tallied seven hits on the night but were unable to plate a run leaving eight runners stranded while the Bulls (1-0) posted 14 hits and scored runs in three of the first four innings en route to the shut out.

USF senior pitcher Danny Otero retired the first three Panthers in the top of the first. In the bottom of the frame with two outs, senior Ty Taborelli singled to right center, followed by a pair of walks from junior Joey Angelberger and sophomore Addison Maruszak. Junior Brandin Daniel singled to right center, knocking in the first two runs of the game

After a 5-4-3 double play ended HPU's at-bat in the second, South Florida plated three more runs to take the 5-0 lead. Senior Nick Cardieri singled, junior Dexter Butler was hit by a pitch and junior Josh LeRoy singled, bringing in Cardieri. Taborelli tagged his second hit of the game and collected an RBI in the inning.

High Point tallied two hits in the fourth leaving a runner at third, before the Bulls struck back scoring three runs off an Angelberger double to left field.

The sixth proved to be another strong frame for USF as the Bulls notched four hits and scored five runs. Junior Walter Diaz pulled a ball down the left field line for a double, then scored as Taborelli sliced a shot past the Panther first baseman. Daniel made it three straight doubles with a shot to left field, registering three RBI on the hit. Junior Brad Karns recorded an RBI of his own to push the score to 13-0.

USF's final run of the game came in the bottom of the seventh as sophomore Mike Consolmagno singled, bringing Diaz across the plate.

High Point's Eammon Portice (0-1) pitched four innings for the Panthers, allowing eight runs on eight hits while striking out six in the loss. Junior Chris Norwood led the HPU offense going 2-for-4 on the night. Fellow junior Randy Schwartz and freshman Robby Kuzdale each recorded hits to extend their season-opening hit streaks to four games.

Taborelli finished the first game of the season for USF with three hits and three runs in three at bats, while tallying two RBI. Daniel tallied a team-high five RBI off of two hits, while Diaz scored three runs and crushed two hits.

Otero (1-0) pitched seven innings for the Bulls, allowing six hits and no runs while striking out three. Junior Ryan Lau came in for relief, striking out two batters in one inning of work. Senior Yuri Higgins closed out the final inning of the game with two strikeouts.

The Panthers and Bulls return to McEwen Field again on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 6 p.m.