The High Point University baseball team suffered a 1-0 hard luck loss to Charleston Southern in the Big South Conference series opener between the two teams on Friday night at Coy O. Williard Sr. Stadium.

The Panthers (24-26, 9-10 Big South) dropped their fourth consecutive game and were shut out for the first time since a 2-0 loss in their season opener on Feb. 3. Charleston Southern (18-31, 3-13) snapped a four-game conference losing skid with the victory.

In a pitching duel from the opening pitch, the two starters each limited their opponent to just four hits on the night. Six of the game's eight base knocks came during the fourth inning. CSU's Cody Higgins (5-2) earned the complete game victory striking out four with two walks over the nine innings. HPU junior Eammon Portice (5-8) worked eight innings while fanning eight.

Portice set down the first nine batters he faced in order but ran into his only bit of trouble in the fourth. The Bucs tallied back-to-back-to-back singles to start the frame with Justin Fyle's hit plating the only run of the night.

The Panthers loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth on singles by J. Williams, Chris Norwood and Eric Marion but failed to push across the equalizer as HPU stranded six runners in the first four innings.

Higgins held High Point hitless over the final five innings and allowed just two base runners on a pair of walks. The Buccaneers also struggled at the plate getting only a single runner aboard following the fourth.

"Their kid threw a great game," said HPU head coach Sal Bando, Jr. "We are really floundering offensively right now. We're getting jammed in 2-0 counts and not doing anything but popping the ball up. We're gonna have to make better adjustments when we don't feel 100 percent. We are struggling right now, but we gotta tip our cap to Charleston Southern because they got it done and we didn't."

High Point and Charleston Southern will play the second game of their three-game set on Saturday at 7 p.m.