The Panthers will wrap up a four-game home stand on Tuesday as they welcome #2 Wake Forest to Williard Stadium. High Point is 7-16 heading into the matchup and has lost each of its last four games. Wake Forest has won four in a row and is coming off a sweep of #17 Miami.

GAME INFO
Tuesday, March 28 - vs. #2 Wake Forest (Williard Stadium) 6 p.m.
WATCH | LIVE STATS

Matchup History

High Point is 14-33 all-time against Wake Forest. The two teams met twice last season, splitting the season series. The Panthers have won the last three matchups at Williard Stadium, the last two being in walk-off fashion. 

Across the Diamond

• Wake Forest is 22-3 on the season and 7-2 in ACC play. The Demon Deacons are ranked second in the nation for the second consecutive week. They sit at the top of the ACC Atlantic division standings.
• The Demon Deacons won 18 of their first 20 to start the season. That is the best start is program history since 1949.
• Wake Forest swept #17 Miami this past weekend. It was the first time in program history that the Demon Deacons had swept the Hurricanes. 
• As a pitching staff, Wake Forest leads the nation in ERA at 2.09. Demon Deacon pitchers also lead the nation in strikeouts with 325. 
• At the plate, Wake Forest is led by sophomore center fielder Tommy Hawke. Hawke leads the ACC in runs scored (36) and on base percentage (.549). He is second in the ACC in batting average at .438. Junior third baseman Brock Wilken leads the ACC in home runs with 13, which is also tied for third in the nation. Wilken leads the ACC in RBI with 40. 
• Wilken is also the NCAA division 1 active leader in home runs with 53 career long balls. 
• The Demon Deacons are playing just their seventh road game of the season. They are 4-2 away from David F. Couch Ballpark. 

Panther Particulars


Gone Streaking
Redshirt sophomore Brett Ahalt sports a 16-game hitting streak heading into Tuesday. The Panthers center fielder is hitting .417 over that span with six home runs and 12 RBI. Ahalt's 16-game hitting streak is the longest by any Panther this season. It is the longest hitting streak by any Panther since Austen Zente hit safely in 28 straight games back in 2018.

Dingers
As a team, the Panthers have hit 38 home runs through the first 23 games of the season. That mark is tied for 31st in the nation. As the home run total approaches 40, High Point hasn't hit 40 home runs in a single season since 2019. 

Fields Approaching 200 Hits and Games
Redshirt senior Javon Fields is currently sitting on 198 career hits. There are currently 38 active NCAA division 1 players with 200 hits or more. Fields is also 10 games away from 200 career games played. The Panther outfielder is tied for 27th among active NCAA division 1 players in games played.  

Sutton Doubles Home Run Total From 2022
Redshirt junior Blake Sutton hit his team-best 10th home run of the season on Sunday. With his 10 home runs, the Panthers catcher has doubled his home run total from last season (5). Sutton hit five of his home runs through the first four games of the season and is tied for the Big South lead in home runs. He is also tied for 17th in the nation.

Simpson Hits First Career Home Run
Freshman Brayden Simpson hit his first career home run on Saturday against USC Upstate. Simpson has started each of the last six games at second base for the Panthers and is tied for third on the team in doubles (4). 
 

?????????? pic.twitter.com/60ATAzHtZD

— High Point Baseball (@HPUBaseball) March 26, 2023

Halladay Hits New Career-Highs
Redshirt junior Braden Halladay has been reliable on the mound for the Panther in a bullpen role. The right-hander worked a career-high 2.2 innings against USC Upstate this past Friday, not allowing a run on just one hit. Halladay has thrown 5.2 consecutive scoreless innings as a reliever. 

Chatham Records 200th Career Hit
With a multi-hit game against Davidson on March 7, graduate student Cael Chatham reached 200 career hits. After spending his first four years at division 3 LaGrange, the Panther third baseman has now totaled 214 career hits. That total is tied for 60th in the nation among all active NCAA players. 
 

2??0??0??th career HIT for @caelchatham ??????#GoHPU pic.twitter.com/n7Hl5lzLqP

— High Point Baseball (@HPUBaseball) March 7, 2023

Co-Freshman of the Week
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
Junior right-hander 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 is currently tied for second in the Big South and tied for 31st in the country in strikeouts with 44.
 
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 .310 through his first 15 games as a Panther with two home runs and eight runs batted in.

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.
 

SUTTON WITH THE WALK-OFF GRAND SLAMMM!! ??????#GoHPU pic.twitter.com/NRx5t70i5l

— High Point Baseball (@HPUBaseball) February 18, 2023

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.