The High Point baseball team battled No. 4-ranked North Carolina on Wednesday night but came up just short in a 3-1 loss at Boshamer Stadium.

The loss dropped the Panthers to 23-22 on the year and marked their second straight defeat this week. UNC improved to 35-9 after capturing their 10th non-conference win in their last 11 games.

The Tar Heels got 6 2/3 shutout innings from their bullpen and made a pair of first inning runs against HPU ace Eammon Portice hold up in the victory.

UNC got their first run as left fielder Reid Fronk tripled down the right field line and scored on a single to left center by Seth Williams. Williams took second on a wild pitch and then crossed the plate on a single up the middle by designated hitter Tim Federowicz for the early two-run lead.

Trailing 2-0, High Point got on the board in the top of the second when shortstop Alfie Wheeler singled home designated hitter Chris Norwood from second to cut the lead to 2-1.

All-America shortstop Josh Horton added a third run for Carolina in the fourth with a solo home to left center.

HPU shut down the high-powered Tar Heel offense from that point, as Portice and reliever Tom Boleska held UNC without a hit the rest of the way. Portice (5-6) struck out six and allowed three runs on five hits and three walks over seven innings.

After Horton's homer made it 3-1, the UNC defense held that advantage in the fifth when Chad Flack threw out Wheeler at the plate on a soft chopper to third, and Wooten struck out HPU slugger Randy Schwartz to strand two runners on base.

Right-handers Rob Wooten, Matt Danford and Andrew Carignan allowed only two hits and combined for 10 strikeouts in relief of starter Mike Facchinei, who lasted 2 1/3 innings. Wooten (2-0) fanned four of the 10 batters he faced to earn his second win, while Danford retired all nine batters he faced and struck out three over three innings. Carignan struck out the side in the ninth to earn his ninth save.

Wooten worked out of a jam in the fifth, and Danford and Carignan held on from there to retiring nine of the 10 batters they faced the rest of the way.

HPU mustered just four hits on the night with Wheeler leading the way with a pair of singles. Jeff Cowan also had a single to extend his current hit streak to nine games.

The Panthers conclude their stretch of midweek non-conference tilts on Thursday at 7 p.m. against Longwood University in Farmville, Va., before enjoying a weekend off from competition.