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Friday's Starters
HPU: R-Sr., RH Scot Hoffman
UMD: Jr., RH Mike Shawaryn
 
Saturday's Starters
HPU: Jr., RH Andre Scrubb
UMD: So., RH Tyler Bloom

Sunday's Starters
HPU: So., RH Brian Shaffer
UMD: Fr., RH Andrew Gottfried

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University baseball team travels to College Park, Md., this weekend to face off with the Terrapins of the University of Maryland beginning on Friday, April 1, at 4 p.m. The three-game series against Maryland is the Panthers' final non-conference weekend series of the season.

The Series: The three-game series between High Point and Maryland will be the first meeting between the Panthers and Terrapins in the HPU Div. I era (2000-present).
 
The Opponent: Maryland entered the 2016 season having reached the Super Regional in each of the past two seasons. The Terrapins are 13-12 overall this season and 1-2 in the Big Ten but they have won each of their past three games heading into the weekend, including a sweep of a home-and-home midweek series against VCU. Much like High Point, Maryland features a balanced attack with seven different players boasting double-digit RBI and six different players having scored double-digit runs. Kevin Biondic leads the team with a .361 batting average while Nick Dunn is hitting .347 with a team-high 22 runs scored. Madison Nickens is the Terrapins top power threat with 10 extra-base hits and a team-high five home runs. Junior right-hander Mike Shawaryn will get the start on the mound on Friday for Maryland. He is 2-2 on the season with a 3.82 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 35-1/3 innings of work. Fellow right-handers Tyler Bloom and Brian Shaffer are slatted to follow Shawryn on Saturday and Sunday. Bloom is 3-2 with a 1.84 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 44 innings while Shaffer is 3-1 with a 2.39 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 37-2/3 innings.

Probable Starting Pitchers:
•Friday: Redshirt-senior Scot Hoffman will make his seventh start of the season for the Panthers on Friday. The right-hander has won each of his past two starts and is now 2-2 with a 5.40 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 30 innings of work. Over his last three starts, Hoffman has allowed four runs, three earned and struck out 16 in 17-2/3 innings.
 
•Saturday: Junior Andre Scrubb will go for his sixth-straight win on Saturday. The right-hander is 5-1 on the season with a 3.44 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 36-2/3 innings. He enters the weekend second in the Big South in strikeouts and has double-digit punch-outs in each of his last two starts.
 
•Sunday: Freshman Andrew Gottfried will try and get back on track when he takes the mound for HPU on Sunday. The right-hander allowed five runs, four earned, in 3-2/3 innings against Winthrop last weekend and is now 2-2 with a 3.51 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 25-2/3 innings of work.
 
HPU vs. the Big Ten: Maryland is the second team in the Big Ten that High Point has faced in the Div. I era (2000-present). The Panthers are 2-1 against teams currently in the Big Ten after taking two of three games against Penn State in 2008.
 
Last Time Out: The Panthers fell on the road to North Carolina Central by a score of 14-1, making it just the second time this season that High Point has dropped back-to-back games. HPU fell behind by a score of 11-0 after three innings as the Eagles scored four runs in the first off High Point starter Michael Hennessey then got a three-run home run in the second and a grand slam in the third. Hennessey dropped to 2-2 for the season after giving up four earned runs on five hits in one inning. Junior Luke Parker hit his first home run of the season for the Panthers' only run on the day.
 
Last Weekend: High Point claimed its fifth-straight weekend series win, taking two of three games from Winthrop at Williard Stadium. HPU 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.
 
HPU Off To Best Start In Div. I History: At 18-7, High Point is off to its best start to a season since 1978 when the Panthers finished 32-9 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 53 bases so far this season, which ranks first in the Big South and 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 16 on the season, which puts him 12th 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. 

Scrubb Plants His Flag: Andre Scrubb has been dominant on the mound over his last five starts, going 5-0 with a 1.93 ERA in 32-2/3 innings. The right-hander has held opponents to a .168 batting average while striking out 45 batters. He has recorded double-digit strikeouts in each of his past two starts, including a career-high 11 at UNC Asheville.
 
Clutch at the Plate: The High Point offense has risen to the occasion when it puts runners on this season. The Panthers are hitting .319 with runners in scoring position and an impressive .410 (16-39) with the bases loaded. Dominic Fazio is hitting .457 (16-35) 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 turned it around in March, posting a 3.14 team ERA and holding opponents to a .226 batting average. The Panthers had three shutouts in the month against Dayton, La Salle and UNC Asheville and held opponents to two or fewer runs in 10 games. Andre Scrubb went 4-0 with a 1.63 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 27-2/3 innings over four starts in the month while Tyler Britton pitched very well out of the pen with a 3-0 record and a 1.96 ERA in five appearances. The right-hander had 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 .372 with eight doubles, 18 walks and 20 RBI. He has recorded multiple hits in 10 games and reached base safely in all but two games 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 213-208 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 finishes out its five-game road swing with a midweek contest at North Carolina on Tuesday, April 5. The Panthers are 1-13 against UNC in the Div. I era (2000-present) with the one win coming at home in 2009 when High Point picked up an 11-9 win over then No. 4 North Carolina, the highest-ranked opponent that High Point has ever beaten.

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