Charleston Southern Falls to High Point in Series Opener

Buccaneers rally late but can't overcome early deficit against Panthers

Apr. 18, 2026 at 6:06am

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A cubist, geometric painting depicting a college baseball game, with the players and field broken down into sharp, overlapping planes of color representing the Charleston Southern and High Point uniforms.Charleston Southern's comeback effort falls short against High Point in the series opener.Charleston Today

Charleston Southern and High Point began their weekend baseball series on Friday night, with the visiting Panthers claiming the first game 14-11. High Point jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the second inning, but the Buccaneers fought back to make it a close game before ultimately falling short.

Why it matters

This loss drops Charleston Southern to 0-1 in the series, putting them in an early hole against a conference rival. The Buccaneers will look to bounce back and even the series in the next game.

The details

High Point started the scoring with a three-run homer in the second inning, followed by a pair of RBI singles to make it 5-0. Charleston Southern responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning, but High Point extended their lead to 7-2 with a two-run shot in the third. The Buccaneers cut the deficit to 7-5 with three runs in the third, but High Point tacked on four more in the fourth to go up 11-7. Charleston Southern chipped away at the lead, scoring one in the sixth and three in the eighth, but ultimately fell 14-11.

  • The series opener took place on Friday, April 18, 2026.
  • High Point scored five runs in the top of the second inning.

The players

Chandler Tuupo

A Charleston Southern player who had an RBI single in the second inning.

Nathan Martinez

A Charleston Southern player who had an RBI hit in the second inning.

Tyler Wright

A Charleston Southern player who had a two-RBI single in the fourth inning and an RBI hit in the eighth inning.

Lucas Pringle

A Charleston Southern player who had an RBI groundout in the third inning and an RBI hit in the eighth inning.

Alex Marot

A Charleston Southern player who had an RBI groundout in the third inning and an RBI hit in the eighth inning.

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What they’re saying

“We knew High Point would come out swinging, but our guys showed a lot of fight to battle back and make it a close game. We'll learn from this and come back stronger tomorrow.”

— Brent Tomko, Charleston Southern Head Coach

What’s next

The two teams will continue their series on Saturday, with Charleston Southern looking to even things up.

The takeaway

Despite the loss, Charleston Southern demonstrated resilience by repeatedly cutting into High Point's lead. The Buccaneers will need to carry that fighting spirit into the next game as they aim to even the series against their conference rival.