#1 High Points Advances Past #4 Charleston Southern, 9-6
By High Point Athletics
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – High Point University baseball capitalized on 11 hits among the top six hitters in its lineup, including four from
Landen Johnson, to earn a 9-6 victory over Charleston Southern University in the opening round of the Big South Conference Tournament at Home Trust Park in Asheville, N.C.
Joey Hammond: "There aren't enough words for me to share that can express how proud I am of this group today. That was a great baseball game with highs and lows and big hits and big pitches in big moments. To handle the unfortunate start and stop times and weather issues as well as we did is a credit to the culture these players have created. We simply were "us" today and that was enough. Wells was electric and gave us five strong innings before turning it over to Shafer and Story. We made some great plays and turned some DP's throughout the game. I thought Ruiz was incredible all around today with professional at bats and managing the game behind the dish. Johnson was unstoppable all game and when we needed him the most, Oh did what Players of the Year do - come through!"
Johnson, who was 4-for-4 from the plate with three RBI, was one of five Panther sluggers with multi-hit performances. Leadoff hitter
Willie Ponce (2-5, 2 runs, double),
Seojun Oh (2-5, 4 RBI, 2 runs),
Lane Allen (2-5, 2 runs) and
Justin Ruiz (3-4, run) also replicated Johnson's multi-hit performance.
On the mound High Point was led by the quartet of
Ty Brachbill,
Mateo Wells,
Tyler Shafer and
Dylan Story. Brachbill, who earned the starting nod, tossed only two innings before rain halted his stint on the mound Thursday afternoon.
Wells went five innings for High Point, striking out six Buccaneer hitters along the way, where he surrendered just three runs.
Tyler Shafer came in relief of Wells (2-2) and allowed just three hits and fanned one Charleston Southern hitter among the six he faced.
Dylan Story (S, 11) held the Buccaneer lineup hitless over the final 1.1 innings to earn the save, breaking the HPU single-season record.
Facing a two-run deficit entering the home half of the first, High Point took advantage of a fielding miscue by the Buccaneers to get
Frank Kelly on base. Kelly put himself into scoring position with a stolen base and scored on a single up the middle by Oh. Allen's double into right field advanced Oh to third and the pair provided the Panthers a 3-2 lead on a single into right by
Landen Johnson.
After rain and inclement weather delayed the game to midday on Friday, the two teams returned to the field. High Point regained its offensive rhythm in the bottom of the third with back-to-back hits by Johnson and
Jake McCarter, which put Johnson at third.
Jace Kohler lifted a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Johnson, extending the Panthers' lead to 4-2.
Charleston Southern got one run back in the sixth with a solo home run to centerfield, but Wells' fifth strike out of the afternoon quickly halted the rally attempt. The Bucs took their first lead of the game in the fifth, following a pair of run-scoring singles.
Willie Ponce led off the High Point seventh with a double to right centerfield, quickly moving to third on a single to right by Kelly. Ponce came home on a fielder's choice by Oh, who tied the game at five-all. Two batters later, with Oh in scoring position at second, Johnson delivered a single off the right field wall to give the Panthers the 6-5 lead. McCarter's grounder to second plated Allen in the process, stretching the margin to two runs.
Charleston Southern sliced the lead back to one, 7-6, in the top of the eighth. With the bases loaded, High Point reliever Story forced a grounder, ending the Buccaneer scoring threat. Oh delivered in the clutch for High Point in the home half of the eighth, driving a two-run single up the middle that plated both Ruiz and Ponce in succession for the 9-6 lead for the victory.
UP NEXT:
High Point will play USC Upstate on Saturday, May 23 with a time to be determined for a chance to the Big South Championship title game.