Harris Yett round first base. Photo by Chris Crews
Charlotte scored five unanswered runs to make up for an early two-run deficit to beat High Point 5-2.
High Point (20-16) broke a scoreless ballgame up in the fourth getting a couple of two-out runs for a 2-0 lead. Tanner Wells drove in the first with a two-out double down the left field line. JJ Woodward scored from third on a balk.
Charlotte (19-17) responded quickly in the fifth by posting four runs on four hits to take the lead 4-2. Todd Elwood started things with a one-out bunt for a single. Elwood advanced to second on a wild pitch, then scored on a Tommy Bullock single to center field. After Hunter Jones walked and Jackson Mims was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Harris Yett came up big with the go-ahead, two-out, two-run single to left for a 3-2 lead. Drew Ober finished off the inning with a single to center which scored Mims.
In the eighth, Zack Smith and pinch-hitter Jesse Gonzales hit back-to-back singles while Elwood walked to load the bases for Bullock. The 49ers added an insurance run on a Bullock walk with the bases loaded.
Colby Bruce picked up the win with four scoreless innings of relief allowing just two hits with a career high six strikeouts. Jonah Patten recorded his fifth save of the season getting two strikeouts in the ninth, he needed just 13 pitches, 12 of which he threw for strikes.
Led by Bruce’s six strikeouts, Carson Pinkney and Jonah Patten each picked up two, fanning High Point a total of ten times, marking the eighth time Charlotte has struck out double-digit opponents in a game.
Six different 49ers recorded a hit with Yett and Bullock each driving in two of the five runs.
“We didn’t play great, but we did what we needed to do and our pitching really picked us up again tonight. I thought we played really good defense. The latest projections have High Point in the NCAA tournament winning the Big South. It was a good effort by our pitching staff,” Head Coach Loren Hibbs said.
This weekend is Baseball Alumni Weekend. The Charlotte 49ers will return to Conference-USA action this Friday, April 20 at 6 p.m. at Hayes Stadium to begin a series against Old Dominion.