Site: Williard Stadium
Score: High Point 11, Campbell 10
Records: High Point (20-30, 11-9), Campbell (33-15, 17-3)
W:
Sean Duffy (3-2)
L: Jake Murry (1-1)
Head coach
Joey Hammond: "Super exciting win. You know, that's a baseball game. We did a lot of things that kind of hurt us and you make six errors against a really good team, you don't expect to be in the ball game. It's a tribute to our guys to just keep coming. We were relentless with our at bats, big homers, big at bats. Obviously Peyton's homer is a big one, but we don't get that spot unless Javon gets the two-strike hit before that to get on base. We had selfless at bats throughout the course of the game, and just kept stacking. What I'm most proud of is every time they answered, we had an answer for them.
Everett Vaughan, getting big outs as a freshman,
Sean Duffy coming in and getting our biggest outs when we needed it. I can't tell you how proud I am, it's a big win for our program, it's a big win for these guys in terms of belief. And we know that we can beat a really good team when we don't play our best game. We get the ability to turn the page tomorrow, hopefully we play a cleaner game and maybe we're in the same situation and have a chance to win the series against a really good team."
Panther Particulars
HPU drew three straight walks to open the bottom of the first inning before
Javon Fields scored on a ground ball to the right side to pull back within 2-1 heading to the second. After the Camels extended the lead to 3-1, the Panthers rallied for another run as Zayicek knocked his solo homer to right field to pull back within one.
Another Campbell runner crossed the plate in the top of the third, but
Peyton Carr led off the bottom half of the inning with a single while
Charlie Klingler's shot back to the pitcher ricocheted and allowed runners to reach first and second safely. Amato followed up with a double to deep right center that scored Carr and Klingler and tied up the game at four runs apiece.
Four combined runs in the fourth and fifth for the Camels gave the visitors a comfortable 8-4 lead. However, the Panthers rallied for a five-run fifth inning to take their first lead of the game a 9-8. Klingler led off with a single to center field before
Adam Stuart walked to put runners on first and second. With two outs, Sutton launched a ball to right field to bring High Point within 8-7.
Zayicek kept the rally going as he reached base with a single before Melton homered to left field to take the lead.
Campbell added another run in the sixth to tie the game up and held the Panthers scoreless in the bottom half to keep the thriller even. With
Everett Vaughan on the mound, the Camels got two runners on base with no outs, but a 4-6-3 double play and a fly out to left field allowed the Panthers to return to the dugout unscathed.
Campbell retook the lead in the top of the eighth, but after Fields reached with a single,
Peyton Carr used a two-run homer to left to give HPU the 11-10 lead heading into the final inning.
Sean Duffy entered his second inning of work in the top of the ninth and struck out the first two batters before a fly out sealed the HPU victory.
Up Next: High Point and Campbell battle for the series win tomorrow, Sunday May 15th, at 1 p.m. in the series finale. High Point will honor eight seniors before the game beginning at 12:25 p.m.
