EAST GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T suffered a doubleheader baseball sweep at the hands of the High Point University (HPU) Panthers on Sunday afternoon, 5-3 and 1-0, inside War Memorial Stadium in Big South Conference action.
Game 1 starters in HPU right-handed pitcher Carter Sheppard and A&T left-handed pitcher Peyton Winebarger battled in a pitcher's duel through the first seven innings. Winebarger went six of those innings, striking out six and giving up two runs on five hits.
Meanwhile, Sheppard threw 7.2 innings and allowed two runs on five hits with eight strikeouts.
The Panthers (18-28, 9-8 Big South) led 2-1 going into their eighth inning, where they found their offensive rhythm. HPU Blake Sutton and Sam Zayicek blasted back-to-back shots over the right field wall. Sutton's was a two-run homer, his second of the game, doubling his season total as the Panthers took a 5-1 lead.
Fortunately, the Aggies also found their offensive rhythm. With two outs and freshman Sabin Roane on first base, juniors Anthony Hennings and Bret Mersman singled through the right side to load the bases.
Sophomore Chet Sikes then sliced a single just past HPU shortstop Adam Stuart on an 0-2 pitch to easily score Roane. However, Hennings narrowly beat the throw from Charlie Klingler in left field as the Aggies cut the deficit to two, 5-3.
Mersman advanced to third on the play putting runners at the corners, but freshman Canyon Brown got under the first pitch of his at-bat, flying out to center field to end the threat.
Freshman right-hander Jackson Hull retired the side in the HPU ninth with ease, picking up an inning-ending strikeout. Unfortunately, the Aggies went down in order in their ninth and could not complete the comeback effort.
Game 2 was similar with another showdown on the mound between the two starters. The second game starred HPU LHP Sam Garcia and A&T LHP Daniel Carter.
Garcia started the game for HPU and threw seven scoreless innings, giving up just one hit while striking out 13. Carter battled on the other side of the diamond for A&T, also going seven innings and allowing only one run on seven hits with six strikeouts.
Unfortunately, that one run proved to be the difference as the Aggie bats could not get anything going offensively. They mustered just one hit in the entire game, a first-inning single up the middle from Mersman.
HPU got their lone run on a sacrifice fly from Klingler that scored Fields from third in the first inning.
Sophomore RHP Sean Duffy (SV, 2) came on in relief of Garcia in the eighth and pitched a hitless final two innings to secure the win for the Panthers and his second save of the season.
He struck out four of the six A&T batters he faced.
