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HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University baseball team will try to bounce back from its series loss at Stetson with a midweek game against NC Central at Williard Stadium on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 4 p.m. It is the first of two-straight midweek contests for the Panthers this week.

Series History: High Point is 4-1 against NC Central in the Div. I era after falling to the Eagles last season by a score of 14-1 in Durham.

The Opponent: NC Central enters the week with a 3-4 record after dropping two of three games to Iona over the weekend. The Eagles are batting .276 as a team led by outfielder Mitch McCrary who is 11-24 on the season with four runs scored. Six of NCCU's nine home runs on the season have come from catcher Conrad Kovalcik and second baseman Corey Joyce who both have three to lead the team. Kovalcik is 7-20 at the plate while Joyce is 9-26. Both are tied for the team lead with eight RBI apiece. Redshirt-senior left-hander Landon Fraley will start on the mound for Central. Fraley threw six innings and allowed just one earned run on five hits while striking out four against Duke in his first start of the season.
 
Probable Starting Pitchers:
• Tuesday: Freshman Muhammed Eid will make his second appearance and first collegiate start for the Panthers on Tuesday. Eid threw three innings of relief against NJIT and allowed one run on four hits and a walk while striking out four.

Last Time Out: High Point dropped its first series of 2017 over the weekend, losing two of three at Stetson. The Panthers started the weekend with a 5-4 win in 10 innings on Friday but dropped two one-run games on Saturday and Sunday, first losing, 5-4 in 10 innings then 1-0 in the rubber game. High Point got strong starting pitching performances in all three contests. Sophomore Andrew Gottfried went six innings and allowed two runs, one earned on three hits and two walks with four strikeouts, freshman Trevor Holloway pitched 5-2/3 shutout innings, allowing just two hits and three walks while striking out three and freshman Drew Daczkowski pitched six innings and allowed just one unearned run on four hits and two walks with four strikeouts.
 
Start'em Young: The High Point pitching staff has relied on youth this season as underclassmen have pitched 80.2 percent of the innings for the Panthers in 2017. All seven games have been started by underclassmen including two each by freshmen Trevor Holloway and Drew Daczkowski and one by freshman Garret Letchworth. In the series against Stetson, underclassmen combined to throw 24 out of a possible 28 innings and allowed just eight runs, five earned on 13 hits and 11 walks while striking out 17.
 
Power Surge: High Point has shown much more pop at the plate this season with 10 home runs in seven games, second in the Big South. The Panthers are on an early pace to hit 80 home runs which would blow away the program Div. I record of 56 and also beat the all-time record of 77 set in 1975. Junior Carson Jackson leads the Big South with four home runs while fellow junior Austen Zente is tied for second with three.
 
Carson Jackson Named National POW: Junior Carson Jackson was named one of Collegiate Baseball's National Players of the Week on Feb. 20 after helping to lead the Panthers to a weekend series win over NJIT. Jackson went 5-11 at the plate with three home runs, five RBI and five runs scored. He had two home runs in High Point's come-from-behind win on Sunday making him the 15th player in HPU's Div. I history to record a multi-HR game.
 
Panthers launch four HRs Sunday: High Point hit four home runs in the come-from-behind win over NJIT on Sunday. It was the most home runs in a game by the Purple & White since 2010 and one shy of the Panthers' Div. I single-game record. Junior Carson Jackson had two home runs and juniors Jordan Sergent and Austen Zente both had one. All six High Point runs in the game came by way of the long ball, including two on Zente's home run in the eighth inning that put HPU in front.
 
HPU in Season Openers: With the win over NJIT in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, HPU improved to 6-12 in season openers since joining Division I in 2000, with a 5-3 record in season openers at Williard Stadium.
 
Gottfried Sole All-Conference Survivor: Andrew Gottfried is the only Big South All-Conference pitcher from last season to return in 2017. Gottfried was named second-team All-Big South after finishing the 2016 season with a 6-5 record and a 2.65 ERA. He had 48 strikeouts in 71-1/3 innings and held opponents to a .238 batting average. The right-hander allowed just 12 extra base hits all season and finished his freshman campaign with a 1.14 WHIP.
 
Purple & White Picked First: For the first time in program history, the Panthers have been picked first in the Big South Preseason Coaches Poll. High Point received four first-place votes and 92 total points to finish atop the preseason poll. The previous high for HPU in the preseason poll was second place in 2015. The Panthers were followed in the poll by Campbell, Liberty and Winthrop.
 
The New Guys: High Point welcomes 15 newcomers this season comprised of 10 freshmen and five junior College transfers. Several of the newcomers are expected to have an immediate impact. Freshmen Trevor Holloway and Drew Daczkowski will start the season in the weekend rotation and junior college transfers Zack Gray, Ryan Mason and Jordan Sergent are all expected to be in the lineup on Saturday. Junior Rion Murrah and freshman Grey Lyttle will both be key late inning relievers who will compete for the closer job.
 
Long Joins HPU Staff: Pat Long joined the HPU baseball staff as the new volunteer assistant coach in August of 2016. Long served as the volunteer assistant at UT-Martin for the 2015 and 2016 seasons during which time he oversaw the instruction of the outfielders and hitters. Long played for seasons of collegiate baseball at Georgia Tech from 2007-2010 as an infielder and right-handed pitcher. He played in 150 games with 95 career starts and finished his collegiate career hitting .275 with 44 RBI and 80 runs scored. On the mound, Long appeared in 38 games and went 0-1 with a 3.18 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 34 innings pitched.
 
Last Season: High Point posted its third-straight winning season and its fourth since joining Div. I. The Panthers finished 32-24 overall and 14-10 in the Big South, tying for second in the conference. The Purple & White claimed weekend series wins over Marist, Dayton, Rider, UNC Asheville, Winthrop, Maryland, Longwood, Radford and Liberty as well as midweek series against Wright State and La Salle.

Pipeline to the Pros: Three members of the 2016 HPU baseball team were drafted to MLB in June giving the Panthers 11 MLB draftees in eight seasons under head coach Craig Cozart. Scrubb was drafted in the eighth round by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Clare was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 21st round and Britton was drafted in the 23rd round by the Houston Astros. 
 
Allen Reaches World Series with Indians: Former HPU pitcher Cody Allen enjoyed a banner season with the Cleveland Indians in 2016, helping the club reach the World Series. Allen finished the 2016 regular season with a 3-5 record and 32 saves. He appeared in 67 games and posted a 2.51 ERA with 87 strikeouts in 68 innings. In the playoffs, Allen had a 0.00 ERA in 10 postseason games with 24 strikeouts in 13-2/3 innings.
 
Up Next: High Point will play its second-straight midweek contest on Wednesday, March 1, when the team heads to nearby Greensboro, N.C., to face inter-Triad rival UNCG. First pitch in the game is set for 4 p.m.

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