CHARLESTON, S.C. - The High Point University baseball team won its 10th game in a row after defeating College of Charleston 2-0 on Thursday night.
Site: CofC Baseball Stadium
Score: High Point 2, Charleston 0
Records: High Point (20-9), Charleston (11-18)
Head Coach Joey Hammond: "Incredible job by Wade [Walton] setting the tone and dominating for six strong innings tonight. I thought he had his best fastball command of the season and just made pitches. Tyler [Shafer] was efficient and clean for two innings, while Dylan [Story] slammed the door for a second consecutive shutout. Impressive job by Justin [Ruiz] behind the dish as well. Coach Edwards had a great plan for our guys to execute. Offense was tough again today but I'm proud of our fight, as I tip my hat to CofC pitchers as they kept us off balance and gave us nothing free. We were able to stack a handful of great at bats (Johnson, Allen, Oh, and McCarter) that made the difference."
Wade Walton set the tone early for High Point, matching his season-high with eight strikeouts through the first three innings.
With runners on the corners in the top of the fourth, Seojun Oh drove in the game's first run with a sacrifice fly to right field, allowing Landen Johnson to tag up and score. Jake McCarter extended the lead by legging out an RBI triple to center field, giving the Panthers a 2-0 advantage.
Walton kept the Cougars off the board, tying his career-high with eleven strikeouts over six innings of work before handing things over to Tyler Shafer. Shafer shut things down over two innings of no-hit baseball, striking out one.
Dylan Story closed the door, earning his fifth save of the season and securing the 2-0 victory for High Point in game one of the series in Charleston.
Walton was credited with the win, improving to 4-2 on the season after allowing just four hits while striking out eleven batters over six innings.
Up Next: High Point is back for game two of the series tomorrow, April 3 at 6:00 p.m.
#GoHPU
