The High Point University baseball team was treated to the official dedication of their new home – Coy O. Williard Sr. Stadium – on Tuesday night and then treated the fans in attendance to a late-inning rally to earn an 8-7 win over Wake Forest.

The Panthers (20-20) snapped a two-game losing skid and earned their first win over an ACC school this season by overcoming a six-run deficit. Wake Forest (21-19) dropped their second straight game with the loss. HPU and Wake split their two meetings this year.

Tuesday was the official dedication of High Point's Coy O. Williard Sr. Stadium. The university held a ceremony on the concourse prior to the game, and Coy Williard Jr. and his wife (Susan) threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

The Demon Deacons looked as if they would spoil the dedication game of the Panthers' new stadium, scoring six runs over the first three innings to take a 6-0 lead. However, High Point's lefty reliever R.J. Chlebnikow completely shut down Wake Forest over the middle innings to set the stage for a Panther comeback.

High Point rallied for six runs in the seventh inning, the final five coming across unearned, to take a 7-6 lead.

After Wake tied it in the eighth, Chris Norwood hit his second home run of the game in the bottom half of the frame to give the Panthers the 8-7 comeback victory.

Allan Dykstra and Tyler Smith each homered to help build an early 6-0 cushion for Wake Forest starter Joel Ernst. Ernst did his part to make the lead stand up, cruising through the first five innings with just three Panthers reaching base. However, Ernst ran into trouble in the sixth and seventh innings. A one-out walk by Jeff Cowan and a pair of singles from Bill Manion and Randy Schwartz gave High Point its first run of the ballgame in the bottom of the sixth.

Ernst pitched his way out of the sixth but couldn't do so in the fateful seventh. The Panthers scored six runs, five unearned, off Ernst and reliever Phil Negus. Norwood led off with a solo home run on the first pitch of the inning. One out later, a Dustin Hood throwing error put Alfie Wheeler on base with one out. Robby Kuzdale followed with a single to chase Ernst. Cowan and Manion then hit back-to-back singles off Negus to score Wheeler.

A Schwartz sacrifice fly with the bases loaded drove in Kuzdale to cut the Wake Forest lead to 6-4. Pinch hitter Tucker Stobbe then put the finishing touches on the rally, blasting a three-run home run to right center to give High Point a 7-6 lead.
 
Despite getting consecutive singles from Dykstra and Michael Murray to lead off the top of the eighth, the Deacs could only manage to push the tying run across in the inning. Two outs after Murray's single, Hood drove in Dykstra with a single to right.

Norwood made Wake pay in the bottom of the eighth, giving HPU an 8-7 lead with a solo home run to leftfield off Eric Niesen.
 
High Point reliever Tom Boleska then got Wake Forest to go quietly in the ninth, getting a 1-2-3 inning with Dykstra left standing in the on-deck circle.

"I thought it was a heroic effort and comeback on our guys' part," said HPU head coach Sal Bando, Jr. "RJ settled down after the first inning and did a great job of putting up four zeroes and giving our offense a chance. Tucker had a huge pinch hit three run homerun to tie the game. Norwood is a fastball hitter and he got a couple of fastballs that he was able to get the barrel of the bat out on. When he makes solid contact its got a chance. Great effort and I'm glad we were able to do it for the Williard family, because I was a little worried early in the game. Our guys had a nice comeback win against a good team."

Dykstra had staked the Deacons to an early 1-0 lead in the first, hitting a solo home run off High Point starter Tony Flores. Wake Forest increased its lead to 4-0 with three runs in the second inning. Andy Goff led off with a single, lining a ball off the third base bag. Two outs later, Flores walked three straight batters to bring in a run, with the RBI going to Brett Linnenkohl. Ben Terry followed with a two-run single to right, scoring Dan Rosaia and Eric Williams. The Deacs added two more runs in the third. Murray drew a one-out walk off Chlebnikow but was then erased on Goff's fielder's choice. Smith followed with a two-run shot to center.

That was all Wake Forest would get off Chlebnikow, though, as the lefty relief specialist stymied the Deacons in a career-high five-plus innings. Coming into Tuesday's game, Chlebnikow had pitched a total of 10 innings over 20 appearances this season.  Chlebnikow allowed three runs on four hits with three strikeouts and a walk. He retired nine straight batters from the fourth through the sixth innings but received a no-decision after giving up the tying run in the eighth. Boleska (3-1) earned the win with two innings of scoreless relief.

Niesen (4-4) took the loss for the Deacons, allowing just the home run in his one inning of work. Ernst received a no-decision, despite pitching a career-best 6 1/3 innings. He allowed four runs, two earned, on six hits.

A quartet of HPU players posted multi-hit performances on Tuesday as Cowan, Manion, Schwartz and Norwood tallied two hits each. Both of Norwood's hits cleared the outfield fence. Dykstra led Wake Forest at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI.

High Point next returns to Big South Conference play this weekend with a three-game series at in-state rival UNC Asheville beginning at 3 p.m. on Friday.