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Friday Starters
GWU: Jr., RH Zach Mosay
HPU: So., RH Andrew Gottfried

Saturday Starters
GWU: Jr., RH Bradley Hallman
HPU: Fr., RH Drew Daczkowski

Sunday Starters
GWU: Fr., LH Isaac Campbell
HPU: Fr., RH Trevor Holloway

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Coming off a win at NC Central on Wednesday, the High Point University baseball team returns home to Williard Stadium for a three-game Big South series against Gardner-Webb starting on Friday, March 31. It is the first home conference series after two-straight on the road to start Big South play.

History vs. Gardner-Webb: High Point is 12-12 in 24 games against the Runnin' Bulldogs during the HPU Div. I era. Last season, HPU dropped two of three games against Gardner-Webb on the road. The Panthers fell in the first two games by scores of 9-0 and 3-1 but avoided a sweep with a 5-2 win in the finale. Andrew Gottfried got the win on the mound after allowing just one unearned run in 6-2/3 innings of work.
 
The Opponent: Gardner-Webb is 12-14 overall and 1-2 in the Big South. The Runnin' Bulldogs dropped two of three games to Campbell last week before bouncing back with a midweek road win at USC Upstate. GWU is led by Big South Preseason Player of the Year Collin Thacker.  The third baseman leads the team with a .370 batting average, 12 extra-base hits and 24 RBI this season. Fellow senior Danny Sullivan is a power bat in the middle of the order with 11 extra-base hits, including a team-high five home runs. Junior right-hander Zach Mosay will start in the series opener on Friday for Gardner-Webb. Mosay is 3-3 on the season with a 4.65 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 402/3 innings of work. Junior right-hander Bradley Hallman will start on the bump on Saturday followed by freshman left-hander Isaac Campbell. Hallman has been the Runnin' Bulldogs top pitcher this season with a 2.08 ERA and a 2-2 record in43-1/3 innings over six starts. Campbell has started five games and is 0-3 with a 6.46 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 23-2/3 innings.

Probable Starting Pitchers:
• Friday: Sophomore right-hander Andrew Gottfried will take the mound for HPU on Friday for the Panthers in the series opener. Gottfried is 1-2 on the season with a 4.01 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 24-2/3 innings over five starts. Against Winthrop, the right-hander lasted just 2-1/3 innings and allowed three earned runs on five hits and a walk. Gottfried still ranks fourth in the Big South in opponent batting average this season, holding batters to a .201 average.
 
• Saturday: Freshman right-hander Drew Daczkowski will make his seventh start of the season on Saturday for the Purple & White. Daczkowski is 2-2 and ranks in the top 10 in the Big South with a 3.30 ERA in 30 innings of work. The right-hander started well against Winthrop before running into trouble in the middle innings. He allowed nine runs, five earned, on seven hits and two walks while striking out four in 4-1/3 innings of work.
 
• Sunday: Freshman right-hander Trevor Holloway will return to the mound on Sunday after turning in his best start of the season at Winthrop last week. Holloway allowed just two earned runs on five hits and a walk in a career-high seven innings of work. The right-hander is 1-3 on the season with a 3.86 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 30-1/3 innings. He ranks sixth in the Big South in opponent batting average.
 
Last Time Out: High Point got back in the win column with a 10-6 victory on Wednesday, breaking a four-game losing streak for the Panthers. The team took a 5-0 lead in the second inning and led the rest of the way to pick up the win. Junior Hunter Lee went 3-4 with a home run, three RBI and two runs scored while freshman Cody Oerther finished 2-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Sophomore Matt Hodges tied for the Big South lead with his fourth win after allowing just two hits and striking out two in 2-1/3 scoreless innings of relief.

Last Weekend: High Point was swept over the weekend in a three-game road series at Winthrop. The Panthers dropped the first game by a score of 7-3 then were swept in a Saturday doubleheader, losing by scores of 12-5 and 4-0. Junior Blake Schunk was 5-12 (.417) with a double and a team-high two RBI while senior Josh Greene went 4-10 (.400) with two doubles and a run scored. In the series finale, freshman Trevor Holloway turned in his best start of the season with a career-high seven innings of work. The right-hander allowed just two earned runs on five hits and a walk while striking out five in a tough-luck loss.

Greene Reemerging: Senior Josh Greene has started each of the past 14 games and is hitting .327 (18-55) with three home runs, 11 RBI and 10 runs scored in those games. He has a team-high seven extra-base hits during that span, including three home runs which he hit in three-straight games for the Panthers. Greene is also tied for the team lead with nine stolen bases after swiping a career-high three in the win at NC Central.

Fireman Hodges: Sophomore left-hander Matt Hodges has become one of the Panthers' top relievers in his second year with the club, appearing in a team-high 12 games and tying for the Big South lead with four wins. The left-hander is 4-1 on the season with a 3.92 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 20-2/3 innings of work.
 
Power Surge: High Point has shown much more pop at the plate this season with 23 home runs in 24 games, third in the Big South behind Gardner-Webb and Campbell. The Panthers are on pace to surpass the program Div. I record of 56 home runs set in 2010. Juniors Carson Jackson, and Austen Zente are tied for third in the conference with five home runs each while fellow junior Jordan Sergent is just behind the pair with four.
 
Start'em Young: The High Point pitching staff has relied on youth this season as underclassmen have pitched 163 of 211 innings (77.3 percent) for the Panthers in 2017. All but one of HPU's 24 games this season have been started by underclassmen including six each by freshmen Trevor Holloway and Drew Daczkowski. Daczkowski ranks ninth in the Big South in ERA while Holloway and sophomore Andrew Gottfried are both among the top 10 in the Big South in opponent batting average.
 
Long Ball Brings Down Owls: 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.
 
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: The Panthers head to nearby Greensboro, N.C., on Tuesday, April 4, to take on North Carolina A&T in the first of two midweek contests. The Panthers are 20-11 in the HPU Div. I era against A&T and the two teams last met on April 8, 2015 when HPU picked up a 10-7 road win over the MEAC squad.

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