The High Point University baseball team dropped the opening game of their four-game weekend series against Furman 10-1 on Friday night at Furman Stadium.

The Panthers fall to 3-12 with the loss while the Paladins improve to 9-4, including an 8-1 mark at home.

Jeff Cowan paced HPU at the plate going 2-for-3 with a pair of extra base hits including a double and a triple. The Panthers only mustered four hits for the game against Paladin starter Jay Jackson (4-0) in eight innings of work.

Ryan Basham (0-4) took the loss for High Point after allowing nine runs on eight hits in 4.2 innings of work. Mikel Rodenberg worked 3.2 innings of effective relief surrendering a run on two hits with three strikeouts.

High Point struck first when Pablo Rosario launched a solo homer down the right field line in the first inning to grab a 1-0 lead. Furman answered with three runs in the bottom of the frame using a pair of RBI singles to earn a 3-1 advantage.

The Paladins moved in front 7-1 with four runs in the bottom of the third. Justin Holloway delivered the big hit belting a grand slam homerun off Basham, who walked a pair of batters to load the bases.
 
Furman opened up a 9-1 advantage after tacking on a pair of runs in the fifth. Marcus Rose drove in both scores with a two-out single to left. Joey Rodgers, who went 3-for-3 on the night, led off the eighth with a homerun to left for the Paladins final run of the game.

HPU and Furman continue their weekend set with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 3 p.m.