HIGH POINT, N.C. - High Point University baseball prepares for the first leg of its 2019 home-and-home series with Wake Forest this Tuesday. The Panthers will be making the short trip out to Winston-Salem to matchup with the Demon Deacons, as the two sides have split their series with one another over the past two years.

The Purple & White will be in search of back-to-back wins this midweek after defeating Winthrop by a count of 7-4 in Sunday's series finale in Rock Hill. The Panthers collected 13 hits in that contest with the Eagles, with freshman AJ Holcomb delivering the second home run of his career in the sixth. 

The Demon Deacons came within just a few runs of sweeping Virginia Tech this past weekend, ultimately taking two of three contests played at David F. Couch Ballpark. The Demon Deacons are just a few games above .500 at 18-15 on the year, but hold a record of 13-7 when playing with the home field advantage.

SERIES HISTORY (D1 Era): 
Wake Forest leads High Point: 31-12

WHAT TO KNOW
Who: Wake Forest
When: 6 PM, Tuesday
Probables: High Point: RHP Nick Niarchos (0-0, 10.80) | Wake Forest: RHP Ryan Cusick (4-2, 6.68)
Where: David F. Couch Ballpark | Winston-Salem, N.C.
Watch | Live Stats

AT THE PLATE
• Daniel Millwee and Ryan Russell each went 3-for-5 in Sunday's finale at Winthrop, collecting six of their team's 13 knocks on the afternoon
• Freshman third baseman AJ Holcomb went deep in back-to-back games against Winthrop, finishing the series with three RBI in total
• Millwee is currently on a 17-game on base streak, the last time he didn't reach first safely was all the way back on March 9th against James Madison
• The Panther offense collected four doubles in game one against the Eagles, a season-high for the club
 
ON THE HILL
• Joe Johnson has recorded back-to-back winning decisions in his last two appearances, surrendering nine hits and five runs over 11.0 innings of work 
• The Panther pitching staff ranks third in the conference concerning hits allowed per nine (9.14), led by Grey Lyttle's 5.81 average, which stands 55th in Division I baseball
• Senior Jonny Vizcaino struck out five batters in his 3.0 innings of relief at Winthrop, he's recorded 16 Ks over his past three appearances (8.1 IP), giving him a K/9 average of 17.28 during that span
• Jacob Winger collected the third save of his career against the Eagles on Sunday. He's surrendered just a single earned run over his past seven trips to the hill, throwing 11.2 innings in that time

SCOUTING THE DEMON DEACONS
• Wake Forest's 194 walks currently rank fourth in all of Division I baseball, while the team's 42 home runs sit seventh
• Sophomore Chris Lanzilli is making a bid for a potential ACC Player of the Year nomination in 2019. The outfielder is currently slugging .618 with eight home runs and 16 doubles, while his 41 RBI trail only teammate Bobby Seymour (42) for a conference best
• Wake Forest probable Ryan Cusick earned a winning decision in his most recent appearance against Virginia Tech this past weekend/ He's gone 0-1 in his last two starts however, surrendering eight earned runs over 6.1 innings of work

COMING UP NEXT
The Panthers return to conference play while hosting Longwood University this weekend. The Purple & White is 14-8 against the Lancers all-time and has not lost a series to the side since 2013.

#GoHPU