HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University baseball team defeated the Virginia Military Institute 7-5 in game one of the series on Friday night.
Site: Williard Stadium
Score: High Point 7, VMI 5
Records: High Point (27-14), VMI (26-15)
Head Coach Joey Hammond: "Happy to come out with a win and proud of the fact our guys dealt with some adversity tonight and made big pitches in big pressure situations. And to have big at-bats in those big pressure situations was nice to see as we haven't had too many of those. Wade [Walton] and all of our pitchers tonight pitched really well. We had some timely hitting so I'm proud of our situational baseball. We got bunts down, we executed and did baseball things really well. Lane [Allen] picks us up with a big home run at the end. Really proud of our guys and excited about having an opportunity to win a series tomorrow."
The Keydets got on the board in the top of the first inning with a double and an RBI single to score the game's first run. After three scoreless frames and dominant pitching from both sides,
Seojun Oh tied the game in the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run to deep right-center, evening the score at 1-1.
The Panthers took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI double from
Landen Johnson that one-hopped the right field wall, easily scoring
Willie Ponce.
Seojun Oh was then intentionally walked, and
Jake McCarter dropped one into the gap to score Johnson.
The lead grew to 5-1 in the bottom of the sixth after
Frank Kelly laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt, allowing
Jace Kohler to slide home safely, followed by another RBI single from Johnson that scored Ponce.
VMI answered in the top of the eighth with a double down the left field line to score a run, followed by a two-run home run that cut the deficit to 5-4.
Lane Allen came up big in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run homer to provide insurance and push the Panthers' lead to 7-4.
The Keydets rallied for one run in the top of the ninth but fell short as
Dylan Story shut the door to earn his seventh save in the 7-5 victory.
Wade Walton was credited with the win after 6.1 innings of work, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out seven batters. He improved to 5-2 on the season.
Up Next: High Point returns to the diamond tomorrow for game two of the series against the Keydets, with first pitch scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
#GoHPU
