HPU baseball predicted to have strong season
By Collin Giuliani//Staff Writer
Following a highly successful 2016 season where the Panthers finished with 32 wins, High Point University’s baseball team is looking to build off of their previous season as they prepare for the 2017 season. Entering this season, the Panthers were picked to finish first in the Big South preseason poll, marking the first time in program history that they were picked to finish atop the Big South. With Coastal Carolina, the defending College World Series champion, now out of the conference and in the Sun Belt, HPU is the new favorite for the 2017 season.
Last season, HPU finished second in the Big South, which was their highest finish in the conference since joining during the 2000 season. The Panthers have 19 letter winners returning. Most of the team’s previous starting lineup is returning, including: Josh Greene, who was last season’s Big South Preseason Player of the Year; Austen Zente, who was second in the Big South in stolen bases with 26; and Carson Jackson, the only returning player from last season that hit above .300. On the mound, the Panthers bring back Andrew Gottfried, who had the lowest earned run average (ERA) of any starting pitcher on the team last year, and Jeremy Johnson, who led the team with a 2.39 ERA. HPU pitchers struck out 440 batters last season, the most in school history.
While HPU was able to retain most of their players, they lost three to the MLB Draft: Chris Clare, who had the highest batting average on the team last season at .345; pitcher Andre Scrubb, who led the Panthers in wins last season with eight and strikeouts with 94; and pitcher Tyler Britton, who was tied for the lead on the Panthers in saves last season with four. Additionally, the Panthers lost pitcher Scot Hoffman, who was tied for the team lead in starts last season with 14, and Dominic Fazio, who was second in batting average, second in home runs and first in runs batted in (RBI) last season.
The Panthers begin conference play on March 17 with a three-game series against Liberty, and conclude conference play on May 14 with a three-game series against Radford. The Big South Tournament will be held in Lexington, South Carolina, and winning the tournament guarantees a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Their non-conference schedule includes a home-and-home series against Triad rivals Elon, UNCG and Wake Forest, and also includes a home series at the end of the season against Maryland, a school that has made the NCAA Tournament twice in the last three years.