NORFOLK, Va. - After watching an early three-run lead dissipate, High Point University baseball once again claimed a come from behind victory, defeating hosts Old Dominion 7-5 in Sunday's season finale. The Panthers' win clinches their first series of the 2019 season, giving the side a 2-1 record heading into their home schedule the approaching Tuesday against UNCG.

"We went into this weekend as a coaching staff wanting to see the character and the makeup of this team," said Head Coach Craig Cozart. "After playing a rough game one, to come back and win the series on the road against an ODU team that has a great coaching staff...I think that our guys showed tremendous character...We got a chance to see everything we wanted to out of our team this weekend and I'm very proud of them. It's hard, no matter where you go, to open up on the road and win a series, so I'm very proud of our guys today."

The Panthers took an early lead for a second straight contest, going up 1-0 on a Joe Johnson RBI-single. With leadoff man Conner Dunbar getting aboard on his first at bat, fellow senior Daniel Millwee followed up with a two-out single to put runners on the corners for Johnson. The junior responded by beating out a tag from the Monarchs' first baseman to score an infield single and give his side an early advantage in the first. 

After watching their hosts go on to score four unanswered, the Panthers would supply a productive third inning to take back the lead they had relinquished in the bottom half of the first. With Dunbar and Tanner Wells leading off the inning with back-to-back singles, Travis Holt moved the pair over with his sac bunt before Millwee's second hit of the afternoon cut the lead to two. 

"Daniel [Millwee] is that guy in the middle of your lineup, that is kind of your cornerstone," said Coach Cozart. 'He had some quality at bats. He grinds things out and really sets the tone for the entire offense. He got better as the week went on, and so did we offensively."

Johnson went on to draw a walk in the following at bat, while a groundout RBI from first baseman JJ Woodard put the Purple & White within a single run with a pair of runners in scoring position. Freshman Sam Zayicek collected the first two of his three RBI on the ensuing at bat, collecting his first extra-base knock of the series on a two-RBI double to left. 

Down 5-4, the Monarchs refused to go away however, tying things up in the fifth with a one-out single. With both sides combining for a single knock through the sixth and seventh frames, the score remained level at 5-5 heading into the eighth.

Millwee would again come up big for HPU, as he and Johnson opened the inning on a pair of singles. The former crossed home on a Zayicek groundout, while Ryan Russell's single to right, gave the visitors a two-run lead. 

Taking the mound for the final out of the seventh, sophomore Jacob Winger tossed a perfect 2.1 to close out the Sunday contest, striking out three of the seven batters that he faced. Tossing just 5.0 innings in 2018, Winger picked up the first win of his career for his efforts, as the Panther pitching staff combined for eight strikeouts and just two walks over the course of their 7-5 victory. 

"I tip my cap to Jacob Winger," said Cozart. "He didn't have very many innings last year, and he came out and threw 2.1 perfect innings to end the ball game... He showed that he has special stuff, and he's a tremendous addition to our bullpen."

>> Catcher Daniel Millwee went 4-for-5 at the plate with an RBI, giving the senior a team-best .417 average over the course of the weekend
>> Zayicek picked up a team-high three RBI on Sunday, his four over the course of the weekend is tied for a Panther-best, collecting an OBP of .538 thus far this season
>> Matt Hodges and Garrett Letchworth combined for 2.1 innings of shutout baseball, with the former striking out the side in the fifth during the series finale
>> Zayicek and Holt have each started off 2019 on three-game hitting streaks, with the latter collecting knocks in each of his last four appearances, dating back to the previous campaign
>> The Panther pitching staff surrendered five walks in its opening day loss to ODU, giving up just five combined over their two victories this week

COMING UP NEXT
The Purple & White opens its home schedule against UNCG this coming Tuesday with first pitch scheduled for 4 PM. The Panthers split their two games against the Spartans last year, beating their triad rivals 14-4 at Williard in 2018.

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