HIGH POINT, N.C. – The Presbyterian College baseball team raced out to an early lead and withstood a late rally from the host High Point as the Blue Hose tallied a 7-6 victory over the Panthers on Friday afternoon at Williard Stadium. Senior Tanner Smith was magnificent for PC tossing 3.2 scoreless innings to preserve the conference opening win for the Blue Hose.
FINAL SCORE: Presbyterian 7, High Point 6
LOCATION: Williard Stadium (High Point, N.C.)
RECORDS: Presbyterian (8-11, 1-0) | High Point (6-11, 0-1)
W: Duncan Howard (1-1) | L: Sam Garcia (0-4) | Save: Tanner Smith (3)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Blue Hose got on the board in the opening frame with a three-run double from Ryan Ouzts to get the early advantage on Friday afternoon.
- PC increased it to a 5-0 game in the fourth with a two-run single from Kyle Decker.
- High Point got on the board in the home half of the fourth with a pair of runs to cut the Blue Hose lead to three, 5-2.
- The Blue Hose answered in the fifth with a run on a wild pitch followed by a passed ball by the hosts to make it 7-2 after 4.5 innings.
- In the sixth, HPU scored four in the inning to cut the Blue Hose advantage to 7-6 after six frames on Friday afternoon.
- PC was able to keep the lead over the final three innings as Smith tossed 3.2 scoreless frames to lead the Blue Hose past HPU.
NOTABLES
- Smith was dominant on Friday as the Blue Hose senior tossed a career-high 3.2 scoreless frames allowing just two hits and one walk to help PC secure the victory on Friday. He tallied three strikeouts in the contest.
- Jack Gorman continued his strong work at the plate with a hit to increase his reached base streak to 19 consecutive games. Gorman has tallied at least one hit in 14 games including Friday's victory.
- With his first college double, freshman Trey Fenderson extended his reached base streak to 11 consecutive games.
- Ouzts's second double of the season got the Blue Hose an early lead on Friday marking a season-high three RBIs for the Blue Hose junior.
- Decker picked up his second multi-hit game of the season in Friday's victory.
- With the victory, Duncan Howard tied Tanner Chock for sixth in the DI record book for wins with 11.
- With his two stolen bases, Decker moved into second in the DI record book for steals as a Blue Hose. The fifth-year senior now has 36 steals in his PC career.
- Friday's win marks the first time PC has gotten a win in it's league opener since 2019 when the Blue Hose defeated Radford 7-1 at home.
UP NEXT
- The Blue Hose and Panthers continue their three-game series on Saturday with first pitch set for 6 p.m. from High Point.
