HPU baseball prepares for 2018 season, looks to win big south
Collin Guiliani // Sports Editor
To say that last season ended strangely for the High Point Panthers would be an understatement. HPU finished the season with 30 wins, making it the second straight year and the third time in the last four years that the program finished with at least 30 wins. However, in the Big South Tournament, outside circumstances led the Panthers’ season to end in rather unusual circumstances.
In the first round of the tournament against Radford, due to rain delays and prior games going into extra innings, HPU lost a game that started at 11:45 p.m. and did not end until 2:53 a.m. the following morning. After defeating Campbell later that day to stay alive, the Panthers lost to Winthrop 14-13 in a game that was played at a high school field with dimensions so short that 13 home runs were hit, setting a conference record. HPU had a 13-8 lead entering the bottom of the ninth inning before allowing six runs, with five of those runs coming off of home runs.
Needless to say, the ending to the 2017 season was an unusual one. However, with the 2017 season in the rearview mirror now, the Panthers look ahead to the 2018 season, looking to win the Big South Conference and make it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.
HPU loses two of their top three hitters from last season from a batting average standpoint, losing redshirt senior Tim Mansfield and senior Josh Greene. Mansfield was named to the All-Big South Second Team last season, finishing the season with a .311 average (second-best on the team), and a .394 on base percentage (third-best). Greene, who was named the Big South Preseason Player of the Year in 2016 and became the first player in school history to win this honor, finished last season with a .290 average (third-best), 32 runs batted in (second-best), and 22 stolen bases (best on the team and third-best in the conference), as well as an appearance on the All-Big South Second Team. Greene’s speed was not only a valuable asset in centerfield, but on the base-paths as well, as he finished his career with 47 stolen bases, which is the second highest total since HPU began playing in Division I in 2000. In the Division I era, only Rey Rojas (54 career stolen bases between 2003 and 2004) finished his career with more stolen bases than Josh Greene.
While the losses of Greene and Mansfield are big, this is an experienced team, with much of the starting lineup coming back. Blake Schunk, who was named to the All-Big South Second Team last season, returns after hitting a team-best .326 last season. Austen Zente, who led the team with 10 home runs last season, and Carson Jackson, who finished second last year with eight home runs, both return. Of the four players to play in all 53 games last season, all four of them return this year, including Schunk, Zente, infielder Conner Dunbar, and utility player Jordan Sergent.
On the mound, the Panthers return five of their top six pitchers from last season from a qualified ERA standpoint, with the only loss being Jeremy Johnson. Sophomore Drew Daczkowski, who was the only pitcher for HPU to make an all-conference team last season, earning a spot on the All-Big South Second Team, returns after finishing his freshman season with a 3.29 ERA and a team-high 70 strikeouts. Of the 30 wins that HPU had last year, the Panthers bring back 24 wins, including all four pitchers who won at least four games for the team last year (Drew Daczkowski, Matt Hodges, Rion Murrah, Andrew Gottfried). Last year, HPU held their opponents to a .251 average, which was their second best total since beginning play in Division I in 2000.
HPU was picked to finish third in the conference in the preseason poll, behind Winthrop and Liberty. Winthrop leads the preseason poll for the seventh time in school history and for the first time since the 2007 season, and is home to junior pitcher Nate Pawleczyk, who was named the Big South Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Winthrop, Liberty, HPU, and Radford each received first place votes in the preseason poll, with HPU receiving one first place vote. This is the second straight season where HPU received a first place vote in the preseason poll, as last year, they were picked to finish first in the conference for the first time in school history.
The Panthers began their season at home on Feb. 16 against James Madison, marking the first ever series between the two schools. Six of HPU’s first seven games are at home, including a three-game series against Dayton. From March 9-11, HPU will participate in the Coastal Carolina Invitational, playing two games against Coastal Carolina, their former Big South rival and 2016 College World Series champions, and Ohio State, champions of the 1966 College World Series and participants in the NCAA Tournament last season for the first time since 2009.
Conference play for HPU begins on March 16, with a three-game road series against Longwood. HPU will play nine series of three games each in conference play, with five of these series being held on the road (Longwood, Charleston Southern, Gardner-Webb, Campbell, UNC Asheville), and four of these series being held at home (Radford, Winthrop, Liberty, Presbyterian). Conference play concludes on May 19, with the finale of a three-game home series against Presbyterian. This marks the third straight year where HPU concludes the regular season at home. The Big South Tournament will be held between May 22 and May 26 in Lynchburg, Virginia, and will be hosted by Liberty University. This tournament is an eight-team, double-elimination tournament, where the winner receives an automatic spot into the NCAA Tournament.