HIGH POINT, N.C – The High Point University baseball team defeated Presbyterian 9-3 in game three to sweep the series on Sunday afternoon.
Site: Williard Stadium
Score: High Point 9 , Presbyterian 3
Records: High Point (14-9, 4-2), Presbyterian (4-21, 2-4)
Head Coach Joey Hammond: "It's never easy to sweep a weekend series and I'm proud our guys that we were able to play a well rounded game to finish the series today. Impressive performance on the mound by Aidan [Paul] and Noah [Zimmerman] being able to minimize any big inning opportunities and then slam the door shut with the final three innings. I thought our offense was relentless from start to finish and we were able to stack at bats and also cash in on situational at bats."
Aidan Paul started on the mound for the Panthers, tossing six innings while allowing three runs and striking out six to earn the win. He worked efficiently through the middle innings, keeping Presbyterian off balance and limiting damage after early scoring chances.
After Presbyterian struck first in the top of the second inning on a solo home run, High Point answered immediately in the bottom half.
Seojun Oh reached on a single and advanced on an error before
Jake McCarter launched a two-run home run to left field, giving the Panthers a 2-1 lead.
Presbyterian briefly tied the game in the third, but High Point regained control in the fourth inning.
Lane Allen led off with a triple down the right field line and later came home on a sacrifice fly by Oh to put the Panthers back in front.
The Panthers' offense broke things open in the fifth inning.
Frank Kelly started the rally with a double, and
Jack Clark followed with an RBI single.
Lane Allen added an RBI double, and Oh drove in another run with a groundout, extending the lead to 6-2.
High Point added to its advantage in the sixth inning, capitalizing on a throwing error that allowed Kelly to score, pushing the lead to 7-3.
The Panthers put the game away in the eighth inning as
Willie Ponce singled to start the frame and Clark followed with a double.
Landen Johnson delivered an RBI single, and Allen added a sacrifice fly to bring in another run, sealing the 9-3 victory for High Point. Out of the bullpen,
Noah Zimmerman was dominant, tossing three shutout innings while allowing no hits and striking out three to earn the save.
Up Next: High Point will head to Boone, North Carolina for a Tuesday, March 24 contest with Appalachian State University at 6:00 p.m.
#GoHPU
