Winning its second straight Big South Conference series, High Point defeated the Charleston Southern baseball team 8-2 on Sunday to take two of three from the Buccaneers this weekend.

The Panthers improved to 10-20 on the season and upped their League mark to 5-4. The loss dropped the Bucs to 11-17 and 2-4.

Going eight innings on the mound for HPU, starter Jamie Serber improved to 3-2 on the season. He spread out 10 hits and walked two while allowing just two unearned runs in a season-best effort. Corey Swickle entered the game in the ninth to pitch for the Panthers, setting the Bucs down in order to secure the victory for HPU.

Both pitchers held the offenses in check in the first two innings, keeping the game scoreless heading into the third. There the Panthers put together a two-out rally to break the deadlock. Jeff Cowan started things off by drawing a walk and then advanced to second on Pablo Rosario's single through the left side. Billy Alvino gave High Point a two-run lead with a double to left center bringing both Cowan and Rosario around to score.

The Panthers doubled their lead with two more runs in the top of the fourth inning. Randy Schwartz led off the frame with a single through the left side and took second on a wild pitch. After a pop out, Drew Geissinger put runners on the corners with a single to right center. Head coach Sal Bando, Jr. then called for a squeeze play that Max Fulginiti executed successfully when his sacrifice bunt gave Schwartz time to score from third. Alfie Wheeler followed with a single that brought Geissinger in and gave the Panthers a 4-0 lead.

Tucker Stobbe extended High Point's lead to five with a solo home run to right field in the top of the sixth inning and the Panthers made it 8-0 with three runs in the seventh. With two runners in scoring position, Alvino lifted a sacrifice fly to center field plating Cowan from third. Rosario, who moved to third on the sacrifice, came home on a wild pitch extending the High Point advantage to seven runs.

Schwartz capped the scoring with a two-out, solo home run to right center to put High Point in front 8-0. It was his team-leading sixth homer of the season and second this week.

CSU got two runs back in the bottom of the eighth inning, scoring a pair when the ball caromed off the helmet of Derek Smith as he hustled down the first base line for an infield single. The fortuitous bounce allowed Will Rodriguez and Brantley Meier to come around to score, making it an 8-2 ball game.

Tyler Thornburg was charged with the loss for Charleston Southern, falling to 2-3 on the year. He pitched six innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits and two walks with three strikeouts.

Cowan, Fulginiti and Schwartz each finished the day with two hits to lead the Panthers at the plate. Alvino drove in three of HPU's eight runs on the day.

The Panthers continue their current nine-game road swing with midweek games against in-state foes Campbell (Tuesday, 7 pm) and Wake Forest (Wednesday, 3 pm) before visiting Winthrop for a three-game set next weekend.