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Tuesday's Starters
HPU: Sr., RH Michael Hennessey
NCCU: TBA

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University baseball team will head to Durham, N.C., on Tuesday, March 29, to take on North Carolina Central in midweek action. The Panthers will try to earn their second-straight non-conference road win of the season with a win over the Eagles.

The Series: HPU is 4-0 against the Eagles in the Div. I era (2000-present). Last season, the Panthers picked up a 5-0 win over NC Central at Williard Stadium.
 
The Opponent: North Carolina Central is 12-13 overall on the season and above .500 in MEAC play with a 5-4 record against conference opponents. The Eagles are coming off a series win over Savannah State thanks to a double header sweep on Friday. Six different Central hitters are currently over .300 for the season, led by James Dey who is hitting .386 with sour doubles and three home runs. Carlos Ortiz is hitting .338 with a team-high 21 RBI and Ellington Hopkins is hitting .333 with 24 runs scored.

Probable Starting Pitcher:
•Tuesday: Senior Michael Hennessey will start on the mound for the Panthers on Tuesday. Hennessey is 2-1 with one save on the season with a 5.11 ERA in seven appearances. The right-hander has pitched 24-2/3 innings and struck out 24 while walking seven. In two of Hennessey's three starts this season the senior has gone seven innings and struck out a career-high six.
 
HPU vs. the MEAC: High Point is 25-12 against schools currently in the MEAC during the HPU Div. I era. The Panthers went 3-0 against MEAC schools last season with two wins over North Carolina A&T and one over North Carolina Central. High Point is 20-11 against North Carolina A&T, 1-1 against Bethune Cookman and 4-0 against North Carolina Central.
 
Last Time Out: The Panthers claimed their fifth-straight weekend series win, taking two of three games from Winthrop at Williard Stadium. High Point won the first two games of the series by scores of 7-2 and 4-2 before dropping the finale on Saturday. Redshirt-senior Scot Hoffman moved back to .500 on the season with a win in the season opener. Hoffman pitched six innings and allowed two runs, one earned while striking out four. Junior Andre Scrubb picked up his fifth-straight win on Friday after striking out 10 and allowing just two runs in seven innings of work.  Junior Chris Clare hit .467 (7-15) in the three games with two doubles and two runs scored. Senior Dominic Fazio (.455) and junior Drew Fopeano (.429) also hit over .400 in the three games.
 
Panthers' Start Hot: At 18-6, High Point is off to its best start to a season since 1977 when the Panthers finished 37-12 in NAIA. HPU's previous high for wins at this point in the season in the Div. I era (2000-present) was 16 in 2010.
 
Panthers Running Wild: High Point has stolen 51 bases through the first 24 games of the season, which ranks seventh in the nation. The Panthers are on pace to break the HPU Div. I single-season record of 123 stolen bases set in 2010. Austin Zente stole seven bags in the series against Wright State and Dayton and now leads the Big South with 15 on the season, which is tied for 14th nationally. Junior Chris Clare (8) and sophomores Carson Jackson (7) and Hunter Lee (7) are also in the top 10 in the Big South in steals. 

Clutch at the Plate: The High Point offense has risen to the occasion when it puts runners on this season. The Panthers are hitting .310 with runners on base and an impressive .410 (16-39) with the bases loaded. The team is also hitting .329 with runners in scoring position and .607 with a runner on third and less than two outs. Dominic Fazio is hitting .471 (16-34) with runners in scoring position and Carson Jackson is hitting .444 (16-36).
 
HPU Pitching Rounding Into Form: After struggling on the mound to start the season, High Point has turned it around in March, posting a 2.52 team ERA and holding opponents to a .219 batting average. The Panthers have three shutouts in the month against Dayton, La Salle and UNC Asheville and have held opponents to two or fewer runs in 10 of 18 games. Andre Scrubb in 4-0 with a 1.63 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 27-2/3 innings over four starts in the month while Tyler Britton has pitched very well out of the pen with a 3-0 record and a 1.96 ERA in five appearances. The right-hander has 23 strikeouts in 18-1/3 innings of work.

Jeffers Emerging In The Midweek: Freshman pitcher Cooper Jeffers has made a big impression in his first season with the Panthers, claiming the spots as HPU's midweek starter. Jeffers is 2-0 with a 0.52 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 17-1/3 innings of work. The left-hander pitched six innings and struck out seven while giving up just two hits against Wright State in his first career start.
 
The Hitman Cometh: Senior Dominic Fazio has become a staple in the High Point lineup, starting all 24 games for the Panthers this season. After serving as a bench player for his first three years at HPU, Fazio is hitting a team-high .381 with eight doubles, 18 walks and 20 RBI. He has recorded multiple hits in 10 games and reached base safely in all but one game this season.

Mansfield Takes Three: Senior Tim Mansfield is tied for fifth in the nation with four triples on the season. He hit a triple in three consecutive games from March 4-8 with one in each of the Panthers' final two games against Dayton then one in the midweek season opener against La Salle. His fourth came against Elon on March 22.
 
Jackson Just Misses Cycle...Twice: Carson Jackson finished a hit shy of the cycle in two-straight games. The first baseman was a single shy in the series finale at UNC Asheville then was short a double in the midweek contest against Elon. Jackson is hitting .357 on the season with six doubles, three triples and three home runs. He leads the Panthers with a .571 slugging percentage.
 
Jackson Named Big South Player Of The Week: Sophomore Carson Jackson earned his first Big South Player of the Week nod on March 21 after helping High Point grab a road sweep at UNC Asheville in its first conference series of the season. Jackson went 8-18 at the plate with a double, two triples and a home run as High Point went 3-1, including a three-game sweep on the road at UNC Asheville to open Big South play. He led the Panthers with six RBI and four runs scored and stole his sixth base of the season. He is the first HPU player to earn Big South Player of the Week honors since Dane McDermott on April 7, 2014.
 
Cozart Wins 200th Game: The Panthers' win over Wright State on March 2 was the 200th win of head coach Craig Cozart's career.  He is now 213-207 in his eight-year career as a head coach with all eight years taking place at HPU. Cozart holds the HPU Div. I record for career wins and has guided High Point to its five winningest seasons in the Div. I era. The Panthers had never finished at or above .500 prior to Cozart's arrival, but since he took over in 2009, the team has finished .500 or better four times, including each of the past three seasons.
 
Lee Setting The Table: Hunter Lee was the quintessential leadoff man for the Panthers in the series against Marist. He went 6-9 at the plate with six walks, two doubles and four runs scored.
 
HPU Receives Free Passes Against UNCG: The Panthers were walked 13 times in the series finale against UNCG, matching the HPU Div. I single-game record set against Charleston Southern in 2007. The team also had three batters hit in the game. In the sixth inning, High Point scored six runs on just two hits as four players were walked and another two batters were hit.
 
Lee Ties HPU Doubles Record: Sophomore Hunter Lee began the 2016 season with three doubles on opening day against UNCG. The sophomore hit doubles to right in the first, third and sixth innings while also drawing a walk in the fourth. Lee's three doubles tied a HPU Div. I single-game record that has been achieved five other times, last by former Panther first baseman Spencer Angelis in 2012.
 
Greene Named Preseason Player Of The Year: After a spectacular sophomore campaign, outfielder Josh Greene was named the 2016 Big South Preseason Player of the Year. Greene received four first-place votes and 19 points to finish just ahead of Campbell's Cole Hallum. The junior outfielder is the first HPU player to be named Preseason Player of the Year. Greene is a two-time All-Big South honoree and last season he led the Panthers with a .355 batting average, 37 RBI, seven home runs, 13 steals, a .441 on-base percentage and a .532 slugging percentage. In 24 conference games in 2015, he finished in the league's Top 10 for batting (.395), runs (17) and RBI (23).
 
Goodman Named to Stopper of the Year Watch List: Redshirt-senior pitcher Joe Goodman has been named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List for the third time. Last season, Goodman returned from Tommy John and went 0-2 with a team-high six saves for the Panthers. The right-hander made 20 appearances for HPU and finished with a 1.86 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 19-1/3 innings pitched. Goodman allowed posted a whip under 1.00, allowing just 11 hits and eight walks in his 19-1/3 innings of work. He is one of 70 players named to the watch list and one of only four from the Big South. Goodman is the first HPU player to be named to the Stopper of the Year watch list.
 
Up Next: High Point will play its final non-conference weekend series of 2016 when it travels to face off with Maryland out of the Big 10 beginning on Friday, April 1, at 4 p.m. The three-game series will be the first meeting between the Panthers and Terrapins in the HPU Div. I era (2000-present).

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