HIGH POINT, N.C. — The High Point baseball team faced off with Presbyterian in the second game of the weekend series on Saturday night. Fighting back through nine innings, the Panthers came up short 8-7.
Site: Williard Stadium
Score: High Point 7 , Presbyterian 8
Records: High Point (6-12), Presbyterian (9-11)
Starting on the mound for the Panthers,
Brett Wozniak opened the game with two strikeouts before an easy shortstop to first base putout from
Adam Stuart. Going into the bottom of the first,
Javon Fields rocked his second home run of the season over the left field wall to put the Panthers ahead 1-0.
In the top of the second, Presbyterian answered with a solid inning for the Blue Hose. Scoring five runs off five hits to take a 5-1 lead. HPU committed two errors during the inning that could have eliminated the last two runs scored in the inning.
Extending the four-run lead, PC lined another homer over left field to bring in two more runs for the Blue Hose.
With the wind still blowing out towards left center field,
Brett Ahalt ripped his sixth homer of the season, closing the six-run gap to four. Staying hot, Fields sent a shot over Presbyterian's center fielder for a double. Following up with a walk from Stuart, placed runners on first and second with two outs. Double stealing, Fields moved to third while Stuart advanced to second. A walk for
Charlie Klingler loaded the bases but a strong performance from PC on the mound resulted in a strikeout for the third out.
In the top of the sixth, the Panthers held the Blue Hose to one hit and no runs as
Braden Halladay secured two strikeouts on the mound.
Making moves in the bottom of the seventh, the Panthers got runners on with a walk from Fields and a single through the right-side hole by
Cael Chatham. A pop fly by Stuart dropped in no man's land in shallow right field, scoring the first run of the inning for High point. With one out,
Cole Singsank buried a line drive into the left field corner, bringing in two more runs for HPU making it a one run game at 7-6.
A sacrifice fly from Presbyterian let in one run in the top of the eighth. Leading off the bottom of the eighth,
Brayden Simpson landed a hit down the right field line for a stand-up double. Hit by a pitch, Ahalt got a free base at first. Fields hit a blooper back to the pitcher that led to the first out of the inning at second base. With runners on the corners, a base hit from Chatham brought home Simpson, making it a one run game for the second time.
It was a quick three up three down in the top of the ninth for High Point in the field. In the team's final at bat, the Panthers were unable to bring home a run, coming up short in game two of the series, 8-7.
Up Next: The Panthers and Blue Hose will compete in the final game of the series on Sunday afternoon at Williard Stadium. The first pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.
#GoHPU
