The High Point University baseball team forced 17th-ranked Coastal Carolina to extra innings on Friday night before dropping a hard fought 7-6 decision at Watson Stadium/Vrooman Field.

HPU slipped to 18-28 overall and 8-8 in Big South play with the loss while CCU improved to 39-11 and a league-leading 13-3. It was the Panthers third extra-inning contest in their last six games and marked Coastal's fifth exta-inning game of the season.

Tommy Baldridge's single in the bottom of the 11th inning scored Scott Woodward with the game winning run. Woodward opened the 11th with a walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by David Sappelt.  High Point reliever RJ Chlebnikow got Dock Doyle to ground out, but in the process Woodward advanced to third.  Chlebnikow intentionally walked David Anderson setting up Baldridge's heroics.

Doyle opened the night's scoring with an opposite-field home run in the first, his 13th of the year.  High Point came back and scored two in the second. Randy Schwartz opened the inning with a double and came home on a chopped single from Max Fulginiti.  CCU starter Joey Haug then recorded two outs before Pablo Rosario came through with an RBI single to left scoring Fulginiti.

Chance Gilmore gave Coastal the lead back in the second, 4-2, with a three-run home run that scored Baldridge and Tyler Bortnick.  Geissinger got a run back for the Panthers with a solo blast in the fourth.

Both teams went scoreless until the eighth, but High Point had a golden chance to score in the sixth.  Fulginiti doubled to open the frame.  Alfie Wheeler then reached as Haug tried to throw Fulginiti out going back to second, but the throw was low and he was safe. Geissinger bunted both runners up a base, bringing in Nick McCully, who got Rosario to ground out and Jeff Cowan to line out ending the threat.

The Panthers would take the lead in the eighth, 6-4, after scoring three runs.  Fulginiti walked and went to third on a Wheeler single.  Geissinger followed with a walk to load the bases.  Matt Rein came on in relief for Coastal and threw a wild pitch allowing Fulginiti to scamper home.  Pinch hitter Kyle Mahoney lifted a sacrifice fly to center, giving High Point a 5-4 lead.  With two outs, Matt Gantner singled off Pete Andrelczyk to score Geissinger.

Coastal tied the game in the ninth off HPU closer Bubba O'Donnell.  After opening the inning with a strikeout, he walked Woodward.  Sappelt doubled to left field putting runners on second and third.  Woodward scored on a wild pitch and Doyle tied the game with a single over Wheeler's head.  O'Donnell got Anderson and Baldridge to pop out sending the game into extra frames.

High Point had a runner on second in the 10th, but Kent Altman escaped the scoring chance without allowing a run. Coastal also had a runner on second and one out in the bottom of the frame, but O'Donnell was able to get out of the jam.

Altman earned his third win of the season, going three innings of relief and giving up two hits, no runs and striking out a batter.  Haug started for the Chants, going 5.1 innings and giving up three runs, 11 hits with five strikeouts.  O'Donnell took the loss in relief, allowing three hits and three runs in 2.1 innings.  HPU starter Ryan Basham struck out six in 4.2 innings, including four in one inning.

Baldridge and Bortnick had three hits apiece for Coastal.  Gilmore added three RBI.  For High Point, Gantner had three hits, with Billy Alvino and Fulginiti adding two apiece.

Coastal and High Point continue their three-game weekend series Saturday at 4 p.m.