HIGH POINT, N.C. - Having already secured a spot in this year's Big South Baseball Tournament in Fayetteville, N.C., High Point University baseball will be looking to improve on its current fifth-seed spot in the conference standings this weekend at Radford. The Panthers will be on the road for their final regular season series of 2019, hoping to repeat the series victory they earned over the Highlanders the previous season. 

After going on a run that saw them win nine of 10 Big South matchups, along with seven consecutive regular season victories, the Panthers have faced some adversity this past week with losses to Gardner-Webb and North Carolina. The Purple & White have accrued a combined 18 hits over their past four games against the Bulldogs and Tar Heels, while collecting 26 knocks just between their two wins against Elon and Wake Forest the week prior. 

The Highlanders returned to a winning record after sweeping UNC Asheville this past weekend, defeating Wake Forest at home 8-6 on the ensuing Tuesday. Sporting a 27-24 record and a 17-7 mark in conference play, Radford finds itself at the top of the Big South standings this week, just a game ahead of second-place Campbell and third place Winthrop. The Highlanders have lost just seven times inside Carter Memorial Stadium this year, five of which were non-conference matchups.

SERIES HISTORY (D1 Era): 
High Point leads Radford: 35-27
* Panthers beat the Highlanders three times in 2018

WHAT TO KNOW
Who: Radford
When: 6 PM, Thursday
Probables: High Point: RHP Harrison Smith (2-4, 2.98) | Radford: LHP Zack Ridgely (4-3, 3.71)
Where: Carter Memorial Stadium | Radford, Va.
Watch | Live Stats

Who: Radford
When: 7 PM, Friday
Probables: High Point: LHP Matt Hodges (2-0, 1.73) | Radford: LHP Andrew Nardi (4-3, 3.96)
Where: Carter Memorial Stadium | Radford, Va.
Watch | Live Stats

Who: Radford
When: 2 PM, Saturday
Probables: High Point: RHP Andrew Gottfried (1-5, 4.71) | Radford: RHP Brandon Donovan (1-2, 5.89)
Where: Carter Memorial Stadium | Radford, Va.
Watch | Live Stats

AT THE PLATE
• Hitting .440 since April 20th, sophomore Travis Holt leads the Panthers with a .321 batting average on the season
• Five High Point batters are hitting .300 or better in conference play, while Daniel Millwee has gotten on base at a clip of .421 against Big South opponents
• Before their series with Gardner-Webb, the Panthers were on a streak of seven straight double-digit hitting performances, out-hitting opponents 84-49 over their seven game winning streak
• Senior JJ Woodard touched first in all three games against Gardner-Webb this past week, drawing three walks in his first seven plate appearances and going 2-for-4 on Sunday
 
ON THE HILL
• With a 5.44 H/9 and 1.00 WHIP righty Grey Lyttle leads the Big South in both categories, while ranking 14th and 37th in the country respectively
• Senior lefty Matt Hodges has given up just two earned runs over his past five appearances, averaging an ERA of 1.93 during that span
• High Point's .253 batting average against sits second in the conference to Campbell University; Grey Lyttle and Harrison Smith's respective BAA's of .169 and .212 rank first and second in the Big South
• Freshman righty KJ Wells has surrendered a single earned run over his past four appearances (9.0 IP), striking out a career-high six batters in his four innings of work against Elon

SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS
• Recording 12 and 10 home runs respectively, Radford designated hitter J.D. Mundy and outfielder Andrew Szamski rank fourth and fifth in the Big South this year
• The Highlanders' 1.30 home runs per contest rank 17th in the country, while they lead the conference in slugging (.438), scoring (6.8) and bases on balls (249)
• With the lowest BB/9 average in the conference (3.46), Radford arms have surrendered a league-low 172 walks in 2019

COMING UP NEXT
The Panthers prepare for the postseason, with the Big South Tournament taking place in Fayetteville, N.C. this May 21st-25th. High Point University has reached the postseason in each of the last 13 years, entering the conference tournament as a second seed in 2018.

#GoHPU