Box Score
HIGH POINT, NC – The Winthrop baseball team scored five runs in the top of the eighth inning to rally from a six-run deficit to defeat the High Point Panthers 10-8 on Sunday afternoon to complete the three-game series sweep at Williard Stadium.
The Eagles improve their record to 14-13 on the season and 6-3 in conference play, while the Panthers fall to 15-15 overall and 3-6 in the Big South.
Mitchell Knox (2-1) picked up the win in relief tossing 4.2 scoreless innings on two hits, no walks and three strikeouts. Spencer Andrews (2-1) took the loss surrendering four runs on four hits, one walk and one strikeout in 1.0 inning of work. Eric Ruth (3) earned the one-out save.
“We had a couple of big innings today,” said head coach Tom Riginos. “I think the whole key was Wade Newman, Mitchell Knox and Eric Ruth. Our relief pitching was outstanding. They came in, slowed things down and that's when we started swinging the bats.”
High Point struck first with two runs in the bottom of the first inning that started with an RBI single to left field by Steve Antolik and was followed by Ryan Retz's RBI single.
Winthrop tied the contest up at 2-2 with two runs of its own in the top of the second on RBI singles from Tyler Cook and Chas Crane. Both singles from Cook and Crane came with two outs in the inning.
The Panthers responded with six combined runs in the second, third and fourth innings to take an 8-2 lead over the Eagles. High Point plated three runs in the second, two in the third and one in the fourth. Antolik and Mike Mercurio all drove in a run during the second, and Mercurio later scored on a throwing error by Adam Gliebe at shortstop. All two runs in the third inning came courtesy of a double to left center field by Murray White IV. The lone fourth inning run came on a single by Retz to center field.
The rally then began for Winthrop in the sixth inning when it drove in two runs and then one in the seventh to cut its deficit to 8-5. Gliebe's RBI triple in the sixth scored the first run and was followed by Cam Walters in the next at-bat with an RBI single. In the seventh inning, TJ Olesczuk had the lone RBI with an RBI infield single that scored Eddie Rohan.
The Eagles took their first lead of the game at 10-8 with five runs in the top of the eighth inning highlighted by a two-out two RBI double into the right center field gap by Brett Thomas. The scoring started when Rohan drove in Walters with an RBI single and then Patrick Gamblin brought in Cook with his RBI sacrifice fly. Olesczuk would tie the game at 8-8 with an infield single and later scored, along with Matt Lobacz, on the double by Thomas.
Walters tied a Winthrop school record for most hits in a game with five, while also driving in one run. The five hits by Walters were the most by an Eagle in the finale. Olesczuk and Thomas both had team-high two RBI on the afternoon. Retz led High Point offensively with a 4-for-5 performance at the plate, and had two RBI along with White IV.
The Eagles have now posted five straight 10-hit performances, with 19 being the most this season by the team. The last time Winthrop had that many hits came when it had 19 in a loss to Coastal Carolina on May 10, 2010 in Conway, SC.
The Eagles will be back in action on Tuesday, Apr. 5 with a non-conference showdown with the North Carolina Tar Heels at Boshamer Stadium. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
