Game Notes

HIGH POINT, N.C. - The High Point University baseball team hit the road for the first time in 2018 campaign with a quick trip for a mid-week contest against North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, N.C. on Wednesday at 4 p.m. HPU (0-3) and A&T (1-2) are scheduled to meet twice this season with the Aggies coming to Williard Stadium for a single game on Wed., April 25.
 

Date	HPU Probable Pitcher	A&T Probable Pitcher	Live Video	Live Stats
Wednesday, Feb. 21 4 p.m.	RHP Kirby Osborn, r-FR. (0-0, --)	TBA	N/A	Link

History vs. North Carolina A&T: High Point and North Carolina A&T have met fairly frequently in previous seasons with HPU owning a 21-11 edge in the series since 2000. The Panthers nabbed the only matchup last year, a 9-5 triumph at War Memorial Stadium. Hunter Lee matched his career high with four RBI on the day.

High Point has won four straight games against the Aggies dating back to the 2014 season and four consecutive contests in Greensboro by a combined score of 53-17. The stretch including a program-record tying 25-run outburst in a 25-3 win in 2014.

The Opponent: North Carolina A&T split its rain-shortened opening season against Coppin State, taking the first game of Sunday's doubleheader 3-2 before falling 9-5 in the nightcap. The Aggies dropped a contest to NC State on Tuesday afternoon, 9-5, in Raleigh, N.C.

A&T is coming off a successful 2017 in which they tied a program record with 15 conference wins and went 28-25 overall. The Aggies are returning 23 players from last year's team, including eight starting position players, five bullpen arms, and two weekend starters.

Five members of the team were named to the preseason All-MEAC first or second team including first-team honorees catcher Adan Ordonez, shortstop Brandon Melendez, and outfielder Myles Sowell.

PROBABLE PITCHERS
• High Point: Redshirt-freshman Kirby Osborn will make his collegiate debut on Wednesday for the Panthers. Osborn redshirted last year after coming to HPU from Land O' Lakes High School in Land O' Lakes, Fla.

Osborn was a four-year letterwinner for the Fighting Gators before earning Millis Scholar-Athlete distinction at HPU.

• North Carolina A&T: The Aggies have yet to announce a starter for Wednesday's matinée.

About the Weekend: JMU nabbed the first game on Friday night, 3-1, before sweeping a doubleheader on Sunday, 5-1 and 4-3.  HPU led for only half an inning, taking a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning of Sunday's nightcap on an Austen Zente two-run homer before JMU responded with two runs in the top of the sixth inning to take the lead for good.

Immediate Impact: Freshman Travis Holt saw himself inserted into the Panthers lineup for all three games of the opening series and made a difference in game one. Playing first base and hitting fifth, Holt went 2-for-3 with a sac bunt, becoming the first HPU freshman to collect a multi-hit game in the season opener since Carson Jackson's four-hit outburst in 2015.

Zente Finishes #ATripleShy: Senior outfielder Austen Zente tied a career high with three hits on Sunday against James Madison, falling a triple short of the cycle. Zente doubled in his first at-bat, singled in the third inning, and launched a go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth inning. Overall, Zente finished 3-for-4 with a run and two RBI as part of a five-hit weekend overall.

Murrah Picks Up Where He Left Off: Senior righthander Rion Murrah tossed 3.2 scoreless and hitless innings in a pair of appearances against James Madison. Dating back to last year, Murrah has thrown 22.1 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run (1 unearned run in that time frame). He has not allowed an earned run in any of last 11 appearances since April 1, 2017 vs Gardner-Webb.

Sit Down, Be Humble: HPU's pitching staff held JMU to a .163 clip in the opening weekend, the best opponents' average in the Big South by over 40 points (Charleston Southern, .204). Panther pitchers struck out 34 Dukes in three games, the third-most in the conference. The 15 punchouts in game one on Sunday is the most for any Big South pitching staff in a single game this year.

RISP-y Business: The Panthers hit just .182 in the season-opening set against the Dukes, but still found themselves in numerous scoring situations. However, HPU was just 4-for-31 with runners in scoring position and stranded 27 runners on base. High Point also had three runners thrown out at the plate trying to advance on a passed ball, infield fly and fielding error.

A True Rarity: HPU suffered a tough three-game sweep at the hands of JMU to begin the 2018 season. The Panthers had not been swept in a three-game home series since 4/11-13/2015 vs Coastal Carolina and suffered the first-ever home non-conference sweep under head coach Craig Cozart (last: Dayton 2/29-3/2/08).

Up Next: HPU returns to Williard Stadium for a three-game series against Dayton from Friday - Sunday, Feb. 23-25. The Flyers went 1-2 in a tournament in Spartanburg, S.C. last week, falling to USC Upstate and Wofford around a victory over Evansville.

#GoHPU