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Tuesday's Starters
WFU: Fr., RH Colin Peluse
HPU: Fr., RH Garrett Letchworth

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University baseball team will host Wake Forest at Williard Stadium in midweek action on Tuesday, March 14, at 4 p.m. The game will mark the 40th meeting between the Panthers and Demon Deacons in the Div. I era.

The Series: High Point is just 10-29 against Wake Forest in the Div. I era (2000-present). Last season, the Panthers dropped both games against Wake Forest, losing on the road by a score of 8-3 and at home by a score of 9-2. High Point's last win over Wake came in 2015 when HPU earned a 4-3 win at Williard Stadium.

The Opponent: Wake Forest is 12-5 on the season and 2-1 in the ACC after taking two of three games from NC State over the weekend. The Demon Deacons are dangerous at the plate, hitting .322 with 28 home runs, which ranks fourth in the nation. Stuart Fairchild is hitting a team-best .386 and is tied for 10th in the nation with six home runs. Eight Wake Forest players have double-digit RBI, led by Gavin Sheets who is tops in the nation with 30 RBI and tied with Fairchild with six home runs.  Freshman right-hander Colin Peluse will make his third start of the season for the Demon Deacons. He is 1-0 with a 9.82 ERA and six strikeouts in 3-2/3 innings of work.
 
Probable Starting Pitchers:
• Tuesday: Freshman right-hander Garrett Letchworth will make his second start of the season on Tuesday against the Demon Deacons. Letchworth had a no-decision in his first collegiate start after giving up five runs in four innings against Davidson. His last appearance was out of the bullpen against Army when he threw one shutout inning.
 
HPU vs. the ACC: High Point is 22-65-1 in 87 games against teams currently in the ACC since joining Div. I in 2000. In addition to their 10-29 record against Wake Forest, the Panthers have seven wins against Duke, two wins and NC State and Virginia Tech and one win against North Carolina. HPU is winless in 10 games against Clemson (0-3), Florida State (0-2), Miami (0-3) and Virginia (0-2).
 
Last Weekend: High Point picked up a road series win over the weekend, taking two of three games at Kennesaw State. The Panthers won the first game by a score of 7-6 and then clinched the series with a 6-3 win in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader. Junior Hunter Lee hit .417 (5-12) in the series and had two home runs in the series finale, his first two of the season.

Loving the Long Ball: High Point hit five home runs in the series against Kennesaw State, including four in the series finale. Senior Josh Greene and junior Hunter Lee both had two home runs on the weekend. In the final game at KSU, High Point led off four-straight innings with solo home runs as Lee hit one in both the second and fourth, Greene hit one in the third and junior Austen Zente had one in the fifth.
 
Start'em Young: The High Point pitching staff has relied on youth this season as underclassmen have pitched 79.4 percent of the innings for the Panthers in 2017. All 14 of HPU's games have been started by underclassmen including four each by freshmen Trevor Holloway and Drew Daczkowski. All three of HPU weekend starters, sophomore Andrew Gottfried, Holloway and Daczkowski, rank among the top 10 in the Big South in ERA and both Gottfried and Holloway rank among the top five in the conference in opponent batting average..
 
Power Surge: High Point has shown much more pop at the plate this season with 17 home runs in 14 games, second in the Big South. The Panthers are on an early pace to hit 68 home runs, which would blow away the program Div. I record of 56. Juniors Carson Jackson, Jordan Sergent and Austen Zente are all tied for the Big South lead with four home runs each.
 
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 in series finale vs. NJIT: 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.
 
Up Next: High Point starts conference play with a three-game road set at Liberty starting on Friday, March 17. It is the first of two-straight road series for the Panthers to kick off Big South play. HPU is 20-38 against Liberty in the Div. I era. Last season, High Point went 1-3 against the Flames last season, losing two of three in the regular season meeting and once in the conference tournament.

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