A late inning rally came up just short as the High Point University baseball team dropped a hard fought 9-7 decision against North Carolina A&T on Wednesday night at War Memorial Stadium.

The Panthers slipped to 3-11 on the year despite pushing across four runs in the final two innings. The Aggies held on for the win to improve to 4-10 this season after plating runs in each of the first six frames.

Robby Kuzdale and Max Fulginiti led the way at the plate for HPU recording three hits apiece. A trio of Aggie batters posted two hits on the night.

A&T took a 2-0 lead in the first inning as Jeremy Jones doubled in a pair of runners and then added another run in the second on a homer by Neil Rosser.

High Point evened the score at 3-3 with three runs in the top of the third. Kuzdale started things off with a one-out single then stole second to get into scoring position. Pablo Rosario followed with an RBI single to center and advanced to second on a fielding error by the Aggie centerfielder. After swiping third, Rosario crossed the plate on a groundout by Billy Alvino. Bill Manion then singled and moved to second on a walk for Randy Schwartz. Fulginiti then laced a ball to leftfield that was misplayed allowing Manion to score for the third run of the inning.

North Carolina A&T added a single run in each of the next three innings before tallying three runs in the sixth. The Aggies used a sacrifice fly and RBI double and a wild pitch to earn the 9-3 advantage.

The Panthers got a run back in the eighth when Murray White doubled and advanced to third on a single by Kuzdale. After Alvino was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Manion earned a walk to force home a run making the score 9-4.

In the ninth, Fulginiti opened with a single up the middle followed by an infield single for Drew Geissinger. Tucker Stobbe was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. After A&T recorded a pair of outs, Rosario drew a walk to score a run and Alvino added a two-RBI single to center for the final runs of the game.

Mike Caldwell (1-2) suffered the loss after allowing six runs (four earned) on six hits over 4.1 innings of work. The Panthers got two scoreless innings of relief from Jamie Serber and Bubba O'Donnell in the seventh and eighth. Chris Mullins (1-0) earned the win for A&T after an inning and a third of relief work.

HPU continues their current road swing with a four-game series this weekend at Furman. The Panthers and Paladins open up play on Friday at 7 p.m. in Greenville, S.C.