ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The High Point University baseball team kept things rolling Sunday, winning its ninth out of the last 11 while securing back-to-back Big South Conference series wins behind a 5-2 win over UNC Asheville.
Site: Greenwood Field
Score: High Point 5, UNC Asheville 2
Records: High Point (16-16, 6-3), Asheville (12-18, 2-7)
Head Coach
Joey Hammond: "What a heck of a baseball game. You have two teams that are fighting tooth and nail all the way to the finish and it's exciting. It's why you do this. It's a game of inches. One player coming up with a big play and making a good pitch in a big situation and that swings the whole series. It's important. It's difficult to win on the road in any league and to come out of here with a series win in a tough game. It took our entire roster and I was really proud of how we pitched today and all weekend long. We had some big, timely hitting.
"It wasn't perfect — we left some opportunities out there — but when we needed it most, we had some big hits and a lot of unsung moments that really defined the game that don't necessarily show up in the box score. Those absolutely made a difference in the game."
For the second straight day, the Panthers opened the scoring with a solo shot as
Adam Stuart got his team rolling with a home run in the second inning.
Matt Little had a no-hitter going until Asheville's Corbin Lanowitz doubled down the left-field line for a two-out hit in the fourth. The starter Little was able to get a groundout in the next at-bat to limit any damage.
In the fifth inning, the Bulldogs tied the game after a two-out fielding error kept the inning going as Asheville was able to capitalize and knot it at 1-all. With two outs in the sixth,
Sean Duffy relieved Little with two on. On the first pitch, the Bulldogs dropped a blooper into left field as Stuart nearly made a remarkable catch before it popped out of his glove on the landing, resulting in a 2-1 UNCA lead.
Charlie Klingler came up huge in the seventh as the senior smoked his third hit — this one being a double — into right field to score
Konni Durschlag and
Cael Chatham to go back up, 3-2.
Noah Carter took over in the bottom of the seventh, relieving Duffy and getting the Panthers out of the jam to keep HPU in front. Carter tossed a scoreless inning before Chatham shifted from third base to the hill to start the eighth. The do-it-all Chatham worked out of a jam with some help via an incredible two-out bullet from the shortstop Stuart.
The Panthers drew three walks in the ninth as two players came off the bench and made an instant impact.
Sean McGee stole a pair of bases — after pinch running for Klingler — as
Brayden Simpson and Miggy Echazarretta also stole a base to give
Sam Schner a pinch-hit bases-loaded, two-out chance.
Schner took his opportunity, ripping a two-RBI single up to give the Panthers some comfort heading into the ninth which saw a double play turned to seal the win and hand Chatham his second save.
Up Next: The Panthers welcome Queens to Williard Stadium for a mid-week clash Tuesday night at 6 p.m.
#GoHPU
