The Panthers welcome the Wildcats of Davidson College to Williard Stadium on Tuesday afternoon for the first time since 2017. The first pitch is set for 4:02 p.m.
 
GAME INFO
Tuesday, March 7 – vs. Davidson (Williard Stadium) 4 p.m.
LIVE STATS

Matchup History
 
The Panthers are 9-3 all-time against the Wildcats. The last time these two teams played was twice in 2017. High Point won both contests, the first at Davidson in the 10^th inning, 12-11 and the second at home 7-0. The teams were scheduled to play each other two times during the 2020 season but both games were canceled due to the impacts of Covid-19. High Point has an undefeated record at home of 5-0. 

 
Across the Diamond
 

• The Wildcats are 5-6 on the season. 
• Davidson was swept this past weekend by Coastal Carolina. Today is the team's final game of a four-game road trip.
• The Wildcats are led at the plate by freshman Michael O'Shaughnessy, who is hitting .520 over his nine games this season. 
• O'Shaughnessy and junior Michael Carico are on seven-game hitting streaks entering tomorrow's game. Carico led the nation in on-base percentage last season at .559.
• Davidson finished 2022 at the top of the Atlantic 10 conference with a record of 43-13. 

 
Panther Particulars
 
Strikeout City
Gus Hughes set a new single game program record on Sunday, March 5^th 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.
 
Dingers
As a team, the Panthers have hit 23 home runs through the first 11 games of the season. It is the most home runs through the first 11games of any season in program history.
 
Sutton Surpasses Home Run Total From 2022
With his seven home runs following the Lafayette series 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 starts from freshman Brayden Simpson at second base and Jack Pokorak at first. Simpson recorded a game-high six RBIs on Sunday going 3-for-8 at the plate with eight total RBIs for the weekend. Pokorak went 5-for-12 at the plate with five RBIs over the weekend.
 
On Base Machines
Going into Tuesday, Blake Sutton and Adam Stuart have both reached base in every contest they have appeared in. Stuart leads with 11-11 games while Sutton falls one game shy with 10-10. 

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 17^th. 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.