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Friday's Starters
HPU: R-Sr., RH Scot Hoffman
GWU: Sr., RH Brad Haymes
 
Saturday's Starters
HPU: Jr., RH Andre Scrubb
GWU: Jr., RH Jeremy Walker
 
Sunday's Starters
HPU: Fr., RH Andrew Gottfried
GWU: So., RH Bradley Hallman

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University baseball team travels to Boiling Springs, N.C., for a three-game weekend series against Gardner-Webb beginning on Friday, April 15, at 6 p.m.

The Series: The Panthers hold a slim 11-10 advantage over GWU in 21 games since joining Div. I in 2000. The two teams last met in 2014 when High Point pulled out a 2- 1 win in 11 innings in a non-conference game at Elon.
 
The Opponent: Gardner-Webb is 23-13 overall and 3-6 in the Big South entering the weekend. The Runnin' Bulldogs started the season with a 17-1 record, but have dropped 12 of their last 18 games. Collin Thacker is second in the Big South with a .409 batting average and he leads the conference with 56 hits and 19 doubles. He leads the team and is fourth in the conference with 34 RBI. Danny Sullivan is hitting .365 with a team-high 28 runs scored. GWU ace Brad Haymes will take the mound on Friday looking for his seventh win of the season Haymes has a 2.56 ERA with a league-high 67 strikeouts in 59-2/3 innings pitched. Jeremy Walker will pitch on Saturday with Bradley Hallman will get the ball on Sunday. Walker is 4-4 in eight starts with a 5.08 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 51-1/3 innings of work. Hallman is 4-2 with a 3.83 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 47 innings pitched.

Probable Starting Pitchers:
• Friday: Redshirt-senior Scot Hoffman will make his ninth start of the season for the Panthers on Friday. Hoffman took a no-decision against Longwood after allowing two runs in six innings while matching his career high with eight strikeouts. In three starts against Big South opponents, Hoffman is 2-0 with a 0.98 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 18-1/3 innings.

• Saturday: Junior Andre Scrubb will take the mound for HPU on Saturday in his ninth start of the season. The right-hander is 6-2 with a 3.69 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 46-1/3 innings. He has double-digit strikeouts in three of his last four starts, including 11 in eight innings against Longwood.

• Sunday: Freshman Andrew Gottfried gets the start on the mound on Sunday, his seventh start of the season. Gottfried picked up the win against Longwood to improve to 3-2 with a 3.38 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 37-1/3 innings. He matched his career-high in innings pitched and struck out a career-high eight in the win over the Lancers.

Last Time Out: The Panthers dropped their third-straight midweek contest with a 5-1 loss to UNC Wilmington at Williard Stadium on Wednesday. High Point was limited to two hits in the contest with junior Chris Clare getting both. Clare finished 2-4 with a double and an RBI. Freshman Cooper Jeffers was the victim of four HPU errors, allowing five runs, three earned, on six hits and a walk with six strikeouts in four innings.
 
Last Weekend: High Point claimed its seventh-straight weekend series, taking two of three games from Longwood at Williard Stadium. The Panthers dropped the first game by a score of 4-3 but bounced back with a 7-2 win on Saturday and a 2-1 win in the rubber game on Sunday. Chris Clare led the HPU effort at the plate, going 6-8 with two walks and three runs scored. High Point's pitching performed well in all three games, allowing just seven runs on the weekend while striking out 34 in 27 innings. Redshirt-senior Scot Hoffman carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning on Friday, junior Andre Scrubb pitched eight innings and allowed just three hits while matching his career high with 11 strikeouts and freshman Andrew Gottfried matched his career high with seven innings pitched and allowed one earned run.

Clare Named Big South Player of the Week: Junior Chris Clare was a key contributor to High Point's seventh-straight series win, as the junior finished 9-for-11 (.818) at the plate in four games with three runs scored and a pair of RBI. The infielder headlined his week with two 3-for-3 performances, including a perfect mark against No. 11 North Carolina on Tuesday. In the series win over Longwood, he finished 6-for-8 (.750) with three runs scored, two walks and a stolen base.

Weekend Rotation K Party: All three members of the Panthers' weekend rotaion set or matched their career highs in strikeouts against Longwood. Scot Hoffman matched his career high with eight strikeouts on Friday, Andre Scrubb tied his career high with 11 strikeouts on Saturday and Andrew Gottfried set a new career high with seven strikeouts on Sunday.
 
HPU Off To Best Start In Div. I History: At 22-11, 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 19 in 2014 when the team posted its best record in the Div. I era at 33-22.
 
Panthers Running Wild: High Point has stolen 60 bases so far this season, which ranks second in the Big South and ninth in the nation. Austin Zente leads the Big South with 20 steals on the season, which puts him tied for 12th nationally. Chris Clare (9) is also in the top 10 in the Big South in steals while Hunter Lee (8) and Carson Jackson (7) are just outside the top 10. 

Britton Lights Out: Britton has been one of the Panthers' best pitchers this season and the top arm out of the bullpen. The right-hander has appeared in 10 games and is 5-1 with a 2.04 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 35-1/3 innings pitched. He is currently second in the Big South in ERA (2.04), tied for third in wins and fifth in opponent batting average (.215). Against Maryland, Britton pitched 4-1/3 innings to earn the win in the series finale. He allowed just one walk and struck out three in the one-run win.
 
HPU Pitching Rounds 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. High Point is currently first in the Big South with a 3.82 ERA and a .241 opponent batting average.

The Hitman Cometh: Senior Dominic Fazio has become a staple in the High Point lineup, starting all 32 games for the Panthers this season. After serving as a bench player for his first three years at HPU, Fazio is hitting .327 with nine doubles, 21 walks and a team-high 24 RBI. He has recorded multiple hits in 11 games and reached base safely in all but four games. Fazio's 37 hits in 2016 is six more than he had in his first three years combined.

Mansfield Takes Three: Senior Tim Mansfield is second in the Big South and tied for 17th 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.
 
Scrubb's March Madness: Andre Scrubb was dominant on the mound in March, going 4-0 with a 1.63 ERA in 27-2/3 innings. The right-hander held opponents to a .149 batting average while striking out 38 batters. He recorded two double-digit strikeout games, including a career-high 11 at UNC Asheville.
 
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 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 217-212 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.
 
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.
 
Up Next: High Point hosts Elon and East Carolina in back-to-back midweek contests on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Panthers are 16-22 against Elon with an 8-2 road win over the Phoenix earlier this season. HPU is 3-7 in 10 meetings against East Carolina in the Div. I era (2000-present).

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