HIGH POINT, N.C. – Charleston Southern dropped a pair of close contests at High Point on Saturday as part of a doubleheader to close out the opening weekend of conference action. The results leave the Buccaneers winless through the first weekend while the Panthers go unblemished with a perfect 3-0 record.
In the first game, High Point tallied three runs through the first two innings for an early lead. Charleston Southern's
Kain Collins helped to scratch a run across in both the third and fourth to cut into the deficit. He scored first off a wild pitch and then walked with the bases loaded to bring
Lucas Pringle home. In the bottom half of the fourth, High Point had a double steal with runners on the corners to bring their fourth run of the day home.
Aidan McAskie hit a solo home run on the first pitch of the 8
th inning to bring them back within a run with the score at 6-3. However, the Panthers went on to score two in the bottom half of the frame to give them a cushion heading into the final inning.
In the second game, High Point scratched two across in the first for another fast lead. The teams then traded 0s until Charleston Southern was able to put up a four-spot in the top of the fourth for their first lead of the weekend. A
Blake Edgmon fielder's choice with a fielding error on the play scored two when the bases were loaded. After that,
Mason Reising and
Chandler Tuupo had singles to score one apiece.
The lead was short lived as High Point rallied with two runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth, bringing the score level again at four apiece. The teams got into a pitching battle, with no one scoring for the next 3.5 frames. The Panthers went on to score four in the bottom of the eighth to get the win and clinch the sweep. Charleston Southern was able to score in the top of the ninth off a
Nathan Martinez single, but not enough to complete the comeback.
Between the two days,
Lew Rice and
Chandler Tuupo were the day's top performer at the plate. Rice collected a hit and four walks while Tuupo had three hits and a walk. Another was
Kain Collins reached base four times with three walks and a hit all coming in just the first game.
Tair Robertson started in the first game and
Ryan Cole had the nod for the second. Each of the relivers that were used across the day turned in solid outings.
Christian Krause had 2.0,
Hayden Henry tossed 0.2, and
Kyle Lewis had 1.0 for each of them being the lone Buccaneers to throw shutouts while on the mound.
Camden Chalfant had a team-high five strikeouts during his 3.0 innings of work.
Charleston Southern will now look to regroup and prepare for their second weekend of conference play. They do not have a midweek contest this week, so their attention immediately goes to the USC Upstate series. The action begins at Nielsen Field @ CSU Ballpark on Friday, March 21 at 6:00 p.m. with the game to be available live on ESPN+.
