HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University baseball team concluded its season at the Big South Championships after dropping both games to No. 1 USC Upstate and No. 3 Charleston Southern on Friday at Truist Point
Game 1
Site: Truist Point
Score: High Point 9, USC Upstate 13
Records: High Point (39-18), USC Upstate (35-23)
Game 2
Site: Truist Point
Score: High Point 8, Charleston Southern 18
Records: High Point (39-19), Charleston Southern (31-21)
Christian Smith started the scoring early in game one with a grand slam that soared halfway up the batter's eye for his 15th long ball of the season. The Spartans had an answer though adding four runs to tie the game on four hits.
The Panthers took over the lead in the second with a two-run single from
Landen Johnson and a bases loaded walk by Smith to give him his fifth rbi of the contest. The Spartans slowly chipped away in the bottom of the third to score a run on a base hit up the middle knocked down by a diving
Frank Kelly.
A six run sixth inning for Upstate pushed them ahead of HPU 11-7 after scoring on four hits.
Three Hillier kept the Panthers in it with a solo home run in the top of the seventh, before the Spartans took the run back with a solo shot of their own in the bottom half of the inning.
HPU made it a 12-9 game after Simpson flew one deep to center field for a sacrifice fly to cut into the deficit in the top of the eighth. A triple in the bottom of the eighth scored another insurance run for Upstate to put it out of reach for HPU as they went down in order in the top of the ninth.
HPU started its elimination game with six runs on six hits to jump out to an early lead. The Panthers batted all nine in the bottom of the first as they attacked every strike they saw.
The Buccaneers battled to get one run across in the top of the second before a zero was put up for HPU. The top of the third saw CSU put across eight runs to jump ahead 9-6.
Jack Clark and
Justin Ruiz both tallied a rbi in the bottom half of the third frame to come within one, 9-8.
After two clean frames from both sides, CSU broke the silence with a four run sixth inning to extend their lead, 13-8. CSU added four more in the seventh to make it a nine-run game. One more run crossed in the top of the ninth for CSU to go up 10, before High Point went down unscathed to fall, 18-8, in the Friday night elimination game.
High Point finished the season with an overall record of 39-19, and 18-6 in the Big South. The Panthers had another historic season as they broke multiple program and conference records leading to a 39-win season in Hammond's fourth year under the helm.
#GoHPU
