HIGH POINT, N.C. – Despite putting up 12 runs against the No. 13 team in the country, the High Point University baseball team fell, 15-12, to Wake Forest on Wednesday night.
Site: Williard Stadium
Score: High Point 12, Wake Forest 15
Records: High Point (24-22), Wake Forest (29-16)
Head Coach Joey Hammond: "I felt like that's a game we had a real opportunity and quite frankly should have won. Must give credit to those guys, they are a really good team. They're a top team in the country for a reason. Certainly, can't give them 12 free bases and then put-up zeros. I am proud of our guys who have been stacking at bats and being relentless. Continuing to fight throughout the game when there was a lot of opportunity for us. Wake Forest can be an overwhelming team and for us to not back down and continue to believe all the way to the very end is a good thing and something we can continue to build off. We've got to be able to clean up some of the free bases and take what's available for us out there. We are going to be playing good teams the rest of the way and we need to clean up some of that stuff."
Wake Forest saw 11 different HPU pitchers take the mound tonight. It started with
Bryan Rivera getting the call for his fifth start of his freshman season. Rivera had a clean first inning, only allowing just one walk.
Peyton Carr got High Point out to an early lead with another long ball to add to his impressive numbers since returning from injury. Carr with a 2-1 count drove a ball over the left field wall for a two-run homer to lift the Panthers up 2-0 in the first.
The Panthers tallied three more runs in the second to extend the lead to five.
Patrick Matthews picked up an RBI as he sent a single just out of reach of the second basemen as
Miggy Echazarreta rounded third to head home and score.
Cael Chatham then sent his 12
th homer of the season over the right field wall for another Panther two-run home run.
Wake Forest came back with a five run third inning to tie the game at five. Three Deacon hits did the trick to score all five runners.
The Panthers responded in the bottom half of the third as
Adam Stuart drove a ball over the wall to give the lead right back to HPU.
Both teams went on to put up zeros in the fourth inning. It wasn't until the top of the fifth until Wake Forest took their first lead. Liam Wilson drove in three runs as he blasted one over the fence to go up, 8-6.
The Deacons broke it open in the seventh as they drove home five runs. A pair of hits, a hit by pitch, and a fielder's choice allowed WFU to pull ahead, 13-6.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Panthers started their crawl back. It started with a
Brayden Simpson three-run home run to deep center. Carr would then double to right center scoring
Konni Durschlag. Stuart then flied out to right field as Chatham tagged and scored from third. The Panthers matched the Deacons with a five-run inning of their own. The Deamon Deacons still led,13-11, after seven innings.
Durschlag made it a one run ball game in the eighth as he grounded out to shortstop, in came Echazarreta to score.
Wake Forest in the top of the ninth added some insurance runs as they tallied an RBI single and a SAC fly to center to extend the lead to 15-12.
The Panthers went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth as Wake Forest held on to win this one, 15-12, on Wednesday night at Williard Stadium.
High Point recorded 15 hits to the Deacons 12 tonight as the Panther's offense stayed alive all game long.
"We've done a great job for the most part all season long," said Hammond. "We got a veteran group. We knew that was going to be the case and I am really proud of them. We as a staff give them specific plans and they trust us. They go out and execute to the best of their abilities to whatever that plan is on that particular day. When they go out and execute it and you stack at bats, you can have a day like you did today against good arms."
Howell Polk,
Sean Duffy,
David Keith,
Dalton Olsovsky,
Joey Tuttoilmondo,
Tyler Romanias,
Jake Potts,
Noah Carter,
Christian Baker, and
Adam Grintz all came out of the HPU bullpen tonight. Tuttoilmondo was credited with the loss as he moved to 1-1 on the season.
Up Next: High Point will head to Spartanburg, S.C. to face up against USC Upstate for a three-game set. The first game in on Friday, May 3 at 5 p.m.
#GoHPU
