Box Score Box Score
ROCK HILL, SC – The Winthrop baseball team rallied from three runs down on Thursday evening as it opened a pivotal three-game series against the High Point Panthers with an 8-3 victory at The Winthrop Ballpark.
The Eagles improve to 17-33 on the season and 9-12 in the Big South, while the Panthers fall to 24-29 overall and 9-13 in conference. The win by Winthrop now puts it in a tie for eighth place in the Big South standings with High Point.
Matt Pierpont (4-8) earned the win tossing 5.2 innings in the opener and gave up three runs on nine hits, one walk and two strikeouts. Ryan Retz (6-4) suffered the loss allowing eight runs (six earned) on seven hits, one walk and one strikeout.
Preston Johnson (3) picked up the save pitching 3.1 scoreless innings of relief and surrendered just one hit on no walks and two strikeouts.
The Eagles entered the bottom of the third inning trailing 3-0 to the Panthers after they plated two runs in the first inning and one in the second. After Retz retired
Max Vogel to start the bottom of the third, five Winthrop players reached base consecutively on singles by
Elliott Caldwell,
Tyler Donovan and
Jason Driver, while
Leighton Daniels and
TJ Olesczuk were both hit by pitches. Driver, Olesczuk and
Matt Lobacz each had an RBI in the inning, as Lobacz had a RBI sacrifice fly. The Eagles tied the game 3-3 at that point.
High Point jumped out in front 2-0 following a two-run first inning as Willie Medina scored on a wild pitch by Pierpont and Ryne Rush drove in Dane McDermott on an RBI double to center field. The Panthers extended their lead to 3-0 in the top of the second on Medina's RBI double to left center field.
Winthrop took the lead for good over High Point at 8-3 after plating two runs in the fourth and three in the fifth. Caldwell drove in
Justin Hopper for the first run of the fourth on his RBI double, and Driver plated Vogel on an RBI groundout. Vogel and
Chas Crane each had an RBI in the fifth, as Vogel's RBI single scored Lobacz and Crane brought in Olesczuk. Crane scored the Eagles' third run of the inning on a double-steal with Vogel at first and third.
Caldwell led Winthrop offensively as he tied a career-high of three hits, while Driver drove in two runs to tie a career-high. Medina, McDermott and Josh Spano had two hits apiece for the Panthers, while Medina and Rush recorded one RBI each.
The Eagles will resume their series against High Point with game two on Friday, May 18 at 6 p.m.
