HIGH POINT, N.C. – A five-run sixth inning combined with
another strong pitching performance helped the Presbyterian College baseball
team to its ninth straight win, a 6-5 victory over Big South foe High Point on
Saturday afternoon.
The win improves PC's record to 13-6 and 2-0 in Big South
play, while High Point falls to 12-9 and 0-2 in the Big South.
Andrew Williams (Augusta, Ga.) led the Blue Hose with two RBI on two
hits, while Nate Chong (Duluth, Ga.) and Brad Zebedis (Rock Hill, S.C.) joined him with two hits as well.
Starting pitcher Bud Jeter (Columbia, S.C.) ran his season record to 4-1
thanks to an impressive display on the mound. The righthander allowed only four
hits and one run in seven innings of work while striking out two. Steven
Richardson (Howe, Texas) also earned his first save of the year, closing out the win by
allowing one hit and one run in one and two-thirds innings.
High Point took an early lead in the second inning, as Zach
Tessier reached first base after being hit by a pitch before eventually scoring
on a sacrifice fly.
PC scored a run of its own in the fourth to tie the game,
1-1. Staring at two outs and down in the count 2-2, Chong drove the next pitch
to center field for a single. Nate Horton (Spartaburg, S.C.) then took his first pitch down the
left-field line for a run-scoring double, bringing the Blue Hose back to even.
The PC nine opened up the game in the sixth, scoring five
runs to break the deadlock. Zebedis began by leading off with a two-strike
single, coming home on Tony Micklon's (Sumter, S.C.) right-field double to take a 2-1 lead.
Micklon moved to third on a Chong sacrifice bunt. A pitching replacement
resulted in Nate Horton being hit by a pitch, followed by Kyle Galloway (Mint Hill, N.C.) earning a walk that left the bases full of Blue Hose.
With John Wagner (Olney, Md.) at the plate, an error from third
baseman D. Geissinger allowed Micklon to score and put Wagner on first.
Williams took advantage of the mistake, taking a 2-0 pitch up the middle to
bring Galloway and Horton home.
Wagner finished the PC run after Mack Hite (Abbeville, S.C.) flied out to
centerfield to move the X to the third. Wagner then stole home with Gabe
Grammer (Irmo, S.C.) at bat, capping the five-run inning and upping PC's advantage on the
scoreboard to 6-1.
High Point mounted a three-run rally in the eighth on three
hits, but Richardson entered to stop the scoring by getting the final two outs
of the inning on one pitch. The junior forced Kyle Mahoney to hit his first pitch to
Williams, who doubled up Mike Mercurio at first to end the inning.
The Panthers scored one final run in the ninth, but
Richardson minimized the scoring and sealed the save to decide the 6-5 win.
PC returns for the final game of the series tomorrow at 1
p.m.
