HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University baseball team took down the Queen University of Charlotte on Tuesday night, 6-3. The Panthers now hold a new program record with 10 wins in a row on home turf.
Site: Williard Stadium
Score: High Point 6, Queens 3
Records: High Point (17-16, 6-3), Queens (8-24, 4-8)
Head Coach Joey Hammond: "Proud of our guys to win a game like that. Our pitchers were fantastic. They had a plan and executed it with our guys coming in, in one inning spurts. They attacked and did a fantastic job and kept the game steady right where we needed to be. We left a lot of meat on the bone offensively, but credit to Queens making some defensive plays."
In what was a bullpen game for the Panthers,
Bryan Rivera got the start and pitched the first 1.2 innings, allowing two runs, on three hits, striking out two batters. After Rivera exited the game, Coach Hammond went to the bullpen every inning.
Lucas Glover,
David Keith,
Braden Halladay,
Joey Tuttoilmondo,
Dalton Olsovsky,
Jake Potts, and
Christian Baker all threw an inning each to close out the win. Keith was credited the win for his first of the year.
Queens hopped out to an early lead after a leadoff solo shot in the top of the first. Rivera settled down and was able to get out of the inning with minimal damage striking out two batters. The Royals rallied for another run in the second off an RBI single up the middle.
The Panthers scored a run in the second after
Dawson Harman sent a ball that bounced over the wall for a ground rule double.
Sean McGee then knocked Harman in as he sent one through the left side for a single. At the end of three innings, Queens held a 2-1 lead over the Panthers.
Justin Ruiz stepped up to the plate in the fourth as he smacked the go ahead two run home run over the left field wall for his second ball long ball of the year. In the same inning with two runners on,
Cael Chatham flied out to center field, but McGee tagged from third and
Konni Durschlag scored off a throwing error by the shortstop. High Point now held a 5-2 lead after four innings of play.
Ruiz grabbed his third RBI of the night in the fifth on a grounder to the shortstop allowing
Brayden Simpson to score from third.
The Panthers bullpen held the Royals off the board for six innings until they tallied one run in the top of the ninth. Baker shut them down after that earning the Panthers the win and to push them past .500 on the year.
Up Next: High Point will host Longwood University for a three-game series this weekend. The first game is on Friday, April 12 at 6 p.m.
#GoHPU
