The High Point University baseball team used another bases-loaded walk-off to complete the series sweep of College of Charleston on Sunday afternoon. Tied at 4-4 in the bottom of the ninth,
Cole Singsank was hit by a pitch on a 2-2 count to advance the runners and score
Javon Fields to take the 5-4 ballgame.Â
Site: Williard Stadium (High Point, N.C.)
Score: High Point 5, College of Charleston 4
Records: High Point (4-8, 0-0), College of Charleston (7-4, 0-0)
Head coach
Joey Hammond: "You come out here and you stack three really good days together against a good club, and you come out with a sweep, I'm just super excited for these guys. We've been grinding, we've been stacking really good practice days, it's about time we start to see it take place in a game. We relax a little bit, stack some really good at bats. I can't say enough about the pitching all weekend long. Coach Miller, coach Maness, and coach Weyman deserve a lot of credit, every picture did a great job of pounding the strike zone. And again, when we needed to stack some at bats we did a really good job. Sweeps are not easy to come by and we need to be able to enjoy this a little bit, and then turn a page. We've got a really big week coming up again, but we're excited about where we're at right now."
Panther Paticulars
It looked like the beginning of a pitcher's duel through the first three innings as neither team was able to plate a run.But the Cougars would use a walk, a single, and a sacrifice fly to get on the board first. The visitors plated another run with two outs as the runner at first base was able to draw a rundown situation to allow the runner at third to score before the third out was recorded.Â
The Cougar lead didn't last for long, as Sinsank led off with a single to center field before
Adam Stuart singled on a choppy ground ball to second base.
Justin Ebert reached base on a throwing error by the third baseman that allowed Singsank to score.
Josh Deslauriers singled to left field to bring in Stuart and Ebert across the plate as the Panthers took a 3-2 lead into the top of the fifth.Â
College of Charleston took back the lead with an RBI-triple down the left field line and a sacrifice fly to right field before a fielder's choice ended the inning. High Point was able to get one run back in the bottom of the fifth as Singsank doubled to right center and scored on Stuart's single up the middle.Â
Panther relieversÂ
Everett Vaughan and
Sam Garcia were able to old the Cougar offense at bay, as runners reached third base in both the seventh and eighth innings but were not allowed to score. Garcia struck out the first two batters of the ninth before forcing a ground out to shortstop to give the Panthers a chance to take the walk-off.
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Fields started the Panther rally as he drew a full-count walk while
Blake Sutton singled to center field on the first pitch of his at bat.
Peyton Carr singled to right field, but with the outfield playing in Fields was unable to score and held at third base. Then Singsank was hit by a pitch that allowed Fields to score the winning run and give HPU the 5-4 lead.Â
Up Next: High Point's schedule features two mid-week games this week. HPU will travel to UNC Asheville on Tuesday night before returning to Williard Stadium to host Pittsburg. First pitch on Tuesday is at 4 p.m.
