College baseball: Deacs pound High Point in Kannapolis

Staff report

KANNAPOLIS — Wake Forest shelled High Point 13-1 on Tuesday as part of a series of college baseball games being played at Atrium Health Ballpark.

The game was a homecoming  for High Point starting pitcher Cord Butler, an A.L. Brown graduate, and Wake Forest pitcher Haiden Leffew, who played on South Rowan’s 2022 state champions.

Butler took the loss although he pitched better than the 13-1 final sounds. He exited with two outs in the fourth inning after allowing two hits, striking out five, walking four and hitting one. He was charged with three runs, two earned. His defense could have helped him more in the third inning.

Butler, a 6-foot-2 right-hander, dominated at D3 North Carolina Wesleyan before making the jump this season to D1 High Point. Butler is 2-3 for the Panthers with 21 strikeouts and 19 walks in 21 2/3 innings. Butler has logged wins against NJIT and Elon.

Leffew, a 6-foot-1 lefty, was 3-0 for the Demon Deacons as a freshman in 2024, notching wins against NC A&T, Liberty and Coastal Carolina. He’s young and won’t turn 21 until December.

Leffew is 1-0 this season with one save. He’s pitched in 12 games, all as a reliever and usually for one inning. He’s struck out 22 batters, while walking eight in 13 1/3 innings.

He was called on to pitch the sixth on Tuesday and did well, keeping High Point off the scoreboard and striking out two batters.

Wake Forest pitchers struck out 18 Panthers.

Wake Forest (21-9)

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