The Panthers head up the road to Chapel Hill on Wednesday for a midweek matchup with #18 North Carolina. This will be the final game of a four-game road trip before starting Big South play at home this weekend.
 
GAME INFO
Friday, March 15 – vs. #18 North Carolina (Boshamer Stadium) 4 p.m.
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Matchup History
 
North Carolina leads the all-time series against High Point 17-1. All matchups between the two teams have been played in Chapel Hill.

 
Across the Diamond

• The Tar Heels are 12-5 on the season and 1-2 in ACC play. 
•  North Carolina has played all but two games at home, where they are 12-4.
•  This will be one of two midweek games UNC will play this week. The Tar Heels play Charlotte on Tuesday. 
• Last season, North Carolina hosted both an NCAA Regional and NCAA Super Regional. The Tar Heels lost to Arkansas in the Super Regional.
• Sophomore Vance Honeycutt was named preseason All-American. The outfielder hit a UNC record 25 home runs last season.

Panther Particulars
 
Gone Streaking
Brett Ahalt sports an eight-game hitting streak heading into Wednesday. The outfielder is hitting .429 over that span with four home runs and seven RBI. A hit in Wednesday's game would tie Javon Fields for the longest hitting streak by any Panther this season (nine games).

Co-Freshman of the Week
Freshman, Brayden Simpson was named Big South Co-Freshman of the Week (Feb. 27-Mar. 5), after going 3-for-8 on the weekend series with eight RBI. He batted .444 to go along with a .571 slugging percentage.
 
Strikeout City
Gus Hughes set a new single game program record on Sunday, March 5th in the final game of the four-game series with Lafayette. Hughes 15 strikeouts during the seven-inning run-rule game surpassed the previous 13 strikeouts set in 2022 by Sam Garcia at North Carolina A&T. Hughes currently ranks within the top 25 in the country in strikeouts with 30.
 
Dingers
As a team, the Panthers have hit 28 home runs through the first 15 games of the season. It is the most home runs through the first 15 games of any season in program history.
 
Sutton Surpasses Home Run Total From 2022
With his eight home runs, catcher Blake Sutton surpassed his home run total from last season (5). Sutton hit five of his home runs through the first four games of the season and leads the Big South in home runs. His total is also tied for seventh in the nation.
 
Freshman Action
In the Lafayette series, the team witnessed the first collegiate starts for freshmen Brayden Simpson at second base and Jack Pokorak at first. Simpson recorded a game-high six RBIs on March 5th. Pokorak is hitting .440 through his first eight games as a Panther with two home runs and eight runs batted in.
 
On Base Machine
Adam Stuart has reached base in all 15 games this season. 

Hot Bats for Sutton
Sutton opened the 2023 season in quite the fashion... grand slam fashion to be exact. In the opening afternoon contest, the Bulldogs and Panthers were tied going into the bottom of the ninth, but with bases loaded, Sutton smacked a walk-off grand slam for HPU's first win of the season. Sutton was not done though. In less than 24 hours he hit two more home runs in the 7-6 win on Saturday afternoon, ending the series with a .364 batting average. The redshirt junior would hit two more home runs against Appalachian State for his second multi home run game of the season.

2^nd Ever Program Sweep for Opening Weekend
High Point opened the 2023 season with a series sweep over Bryant, marking the second time ever in program history. High Point started 3-0 for the first time since 2020.
 
HPU Picked Third in Preseason Poll
High Point was tabbed third in the Big South preseason coaches' poll on January 26th. Campbell was the league favorite with six first-place votes and 93 total points in the poll.
 
Quartet of Panthers Highlight D1 Baseball Big South Prospects
D1 Baseball released its top 40 2023 draft prospects from the Big South. Out of the 40-man list, Sam Garcia was ranked seventh, while pitchers Gus Hughes and Carter Sheppard were ranked 11th and 16th respectively. Outfielder Brett Ahalt also made the listing and placed 26th. 

D1 Baseball's Starting Pitchers
Garcia also made D1 Baseball's top 200 starting pitchers, coming in at 127.
 
New and Old Kids on the Block
High Point returns 11 pitchers and nine position players from last season, while adding 11 transfers and 10 freshmen to fill out the roster.
 
Last Season
High Point finished 2022 with a record of 22-33, 14-10 in Big South play finishing fourth in the Big South standings. HPU won 10 of its final 14 regular season games. The Panthers won 12 home games last season, doubling their home win total from the season before. High Point was eliminated by UNC Asheville in the 2022 Big South Tournament. 
 
HPU Preview
It's baseball season in High Point as the Panthers are set to open with a weekend series versus Bryant on Friday, February 17th. Sam Garcia has earned the Friday night starting slot with a big arm that can regularly throw in the 90s. Fans can expect to see Brett Wozniak, a redshirt sophomore transfer from Golden West on the mound on Saturday. Gus Hughes, a transfer junior from Gaston Community College, will round out the weekend rotation and be the Sunday afternoon starter. 

On the mound, the Panthers return 11 pitchers, including all three of their weekend starters from the 2022 season. The first team All-Big South member Garcia is coming off a season in which he was second in the Big South in ERA and WHIP. His .98 WHIP was good for 19th in the nation. Second team All-Big South member Sean Duffy finished sixth in the Big South last season in ERA with a 3.45. As a staff, the Panthers pitched four shutouts in 2022, which led the Big South. High Point added five transfers to bolster its pitching staff, including Hughes (Gaston College) and Wozniak (Golden West College).

In the lineup, the Panthers return nine positions players, seven of which were starters during the 2022 season. Charlie Klingler and Peyton Carr finished ninth and 10th respectively in the Big South in hitting. Klingler hit .328 in 38 games while Carr played in all 56 contests and hit .327. Javon Fields led all Panthers in batting average during Big South play, hitting .383 in league play, primarily out of the leadoff spot. Cole Singsank led HPU in home runs with eight while also leading the team in doubles with 12, tying for a team-high in RBI with 33. High Point adds transfers Brett Ahalt and Cael Chatham. Ahalt played at George Mason last year, leading the Patriots in hitting at .329. Chatham is a graduate transfer from Divsion III LaGrange, hitting a career best .378 with five home runs and 60 RBI in 2022.