Box Score | Box Score (PDF)

The High Point University baseball team rallied late against Mercer but was unable to find the tying run as the Panthers fell by a final score of 5-4 in the second game of a season-opening double header on Saturday night in Macon, Ga. Junior Cody Manzella went 4-4 in the game with three runs scored.

"We kept ourselves in the game enough to have a chance to win it in the late innings but we couldn't capitalize," head coach Craig Cozart said. "We haven't gotten that big hit yet. I know we are only two games in but that is what we are looking for. We need someone to step up and hit a ball through the gap in an RBI situation."

Down two in the top of the ninth, HPU loaded the bases with one out on hits by Manzella and juniors Josh Spano and Dane McDermott. Freshman Josh Greene drove in Manzella with a fielder's choice to second. Senior Kyle Brandenburg followed Greene and hit a hard ball into right but it was tracked down by the Bears' rightfielder for the final out of the game.

Senior Mike Krumm started on the mound for High Point and took the loss after pitching 4-1/3 innings and allowing four earned runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out four. Freshman Cas Silber entered in relief of Krumm and pitched the final 3-2/3 innings, surrendering one earned run on two hits and a walk while striking out four.

Stephen Glaze got the win for Mercer with 1-1/3 innings of scoreless relief out of the bullpen. Gran Papelian started for the Bears and allowed one earned run on six hits over 4-2/3 innings.

High Point opens the season at 0-2 after dropping both games of Saturday's doubleheader to Mercer while the Bears start the season at 2-0.

Mercer took the first lead of the game in the bottom of the third inning on a two-run home run by Nate Moorhouse. The Bears leadoff hitter delivered the ball just over the wall in right-center to put Mercer in front.

The Panthers got on the board in the top of the fifth inning on an RBI single by Greene. With runners at second and third and two outs the centerfielder hit a slow roller to second and just beat out the throw for an infield hit. Manzella led off the inning with a single and came around to score on the play.

In the bottom of the frame, Mercer loaded the bases with one out on back-to-back singles and a walk. Silber came into the game and induced a ground ball up the middle, but the ball took a high hop over second baseman Dane McDermott for a two-run single to extend the Bears' lead to 4-1.

The two teams exchanged runs on wild pitches in the bottom of the sixth and the top of the seventh. Mercer's Devin Bonin singled on a bunt to lead off the bottom of the sixth and scored on a wild pitch by Silber. Manzella then returned the favor in the next half inning, singling to center and coming around to score on a wild pitch by Ryan Askew to make the score 5-2.

High Point tacked on a run in the top of the eighth to pull the Panthers within two at 5-3 when Brandenburg doubled off the bottom of the wall in right-center field and came around to score one batter later on an error by the Mercer second baseman.

Brandenburg and McDermott both had two hits in the game for HPU and Greene finished with a team-best two RBI.

Bonin went 2-4 with two runs scored in the game for Mercer while Nick Buckland finished 2-5 with one run scored. Moorhouse and Michael led the squad with two RBI each in the contest.

High Point and Mercer will return to Claude Smith Field for the third and final game of the weekend series on Sunday, Feb. 16. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.