Gastonia, NC- The High Point Rockers didn’t let the rain ruin their parade Saturday night, taking down the Gastonia Honey Hunters 8-4.

Playing in conditions ranging from a drizzle to a steady rain beginning in the third inning and continuing to the game’s conclusion, the Rockers built an early 4-0 lead and never trailed.

In the second inning with Zander Wiel on base, Tyler Ladendorf launched a home run over the left field wall off Reilly Hovis (L, 5-5) to give High Point a 2-0 advantage early. In the third inning, with Michael Russell at second base, Wiel stepped up to the plate and delivered a deep fly ball to center field. Jake Skole caught the ball at the fence, and Russell tagged up and went to third, only to catch the Honey Hunters napping and continued home, scoring from second base on the sacrifice fly.

In the fifth inning, Jerry Downs launched a home run of his own, his fourth in the last five games, giving High Point a 4-0 advantage.

Despite the Honey Hunters 23-6, 67-27) scoring twice off Neil Uskali in the last two innings of his evening, Uskali (W, 4-3) delivered a strong performance. He exited with two outs in the sixth inning, turning in 5.2 innings of two-run ball (only one run was earned) and matching a season-high in strikeouts with five.

The Rockers would add RBI hits from Giovanny Alfonzo, Mike Gulino, and Russell before all was said and done, and Ryan Dull (S, 9) relieved Bryce Hensley in the ninth inning to earn the save.

For High Point (10-19, 49-46), the win secured at least a split of the four-game weekend series, and was their fourth win in the last six games against the Honey Hunters.

The series concludes tomorrow as the Rockers send Craig Stem (3-3, 3.49) to the mound to take on Gastonia’s Roger Bernal. In Bernal’s last start, he threw the first five innings of what became a combined no-hitter for Gastonia against Lexington. First pitch of tomorrow’s game is scheduled for 4:15 at CaroMont Health Park.

NOTES: Gastonia’s Reece Hampton stole two bases, becoming the first player in the Atlantic League to reach 50 steals in 2022…Jerry Downs recorded two hits, extending his hitting streak to 14 games.

High Point, NC- The Rockers split a Friday doubleheader at Gastonia, dropping the opening game 6-3 before rallying for a 3-2 win in the nightcap.

In game one, Gastonia took a 3-0 lead in the second inning when Jaylen Smith launched a mammoth three-run home run off Rockers starter Mickey Jannis. The Honey Hunters would then add a pair of runs in the third inning, one scoring on a Dakota Mulcay passed ball, and another on Emmanuel Tapia’s RBI groundout.

Down 5-0, the Rockers finally got on the board in the fourth. After retiring the first nine hitters in order, Gastonia starter John Anderson gave up a leadoff hit to Michael Russell, who would score on a wild pitch two batters later. Then, Jerry Downs launched a solo home run (his third consecutive game with a home run) to make it 5-2. Quincy Latimore would single immediately after, and Cesar Trejo would drive him in to pull High Point to within two.

The Honey Hunters would get a run back in the bottom of the fourth, when Darian Sandford hit a chopper to first base with a runner on third, and Jerry Downs’ only play was to retire Sandford, allowing Skole to score.

Facing closer Jesus Balaguer in the seventh, High Point loaded the bases, but Downs struck out to end the contest.

In the second game, Honey Hunters pitcher Onas Farfan and new Rocker Bryan Quillens traded zeroes until the bottom of the fourth inning. Quillens exited after allowing a walk and a single, and both inherited runners came around to score off Junior Rincon. Luis Castro drove in Joseph Rosa with a single, and Tapia would bring Luis Roman in to score for a 2-0 Gastonia lead.

The Rockers’ bats remained quiet until the sixth, when Michael Russell and Ben Aklinski led off the inning with a pair of doubles. Downs promptly singled into right field, bringing both runners home and tying the game.

In the top of the seventh, the Rockers got three singles from Jay Gonzalez, Mike Gulino, and Russell to load the bases with one out. Aklinski would hit a ground ball to shortstop, but Rosa bobbled the ball, taking away any chance at a double play. Rosa recovered to force out Russell at second, but Gonzalez came in to score the deciding run.

For the day, Downs drove in three runs and has extended his hitting streak to a team best this year with his 13^th consecutive game with a base hit.

Game three of the weekend series is set for tomorrow night at CaroMont Health Park in Gastonia. First pitch is scheduled for 6:15 as the Rockers look to continue to hound the Wild Health Genomes for the Wild Card spot, now down 1.5 games.

High Point, NC- Elih Villanueva struck out 11 and Felix Pie drove in three runs as the Kentucky Wild Health Genomes defeated the High Point Rockers 6-2 on Thursday night at Truist Point.

Pie’s two-run home run in the third inning off Rockers starter Ivan Pineyro (4-2) gave the Genomes a lead they would not relinquish and provided more than enough offense for Villanueva’s masterful start.

The Genomes took a 1-0 lead almost instantly, when Luke Becker tripled on the first pitch of the game and scored moments later on a wild pitch. In the bottom of the first inning, the Rockers appeared to pick up exactly where the offense had left off last night, however, when Ben Aklinski (16^th) and Jerry Downs (15^th) hit back-to-back home runs for a 2-1 lead.

In the third, with a runner on first base, Pie launched a towering home run down the right field line, keeping it fair and putting Wild Health ahead 3-2. He would also score in the sixth on a wild pitch after hitting the Genomes’ second triple of the game.

Kentucky would add two more runs in the eighth inning off Bryce Hensley to close the scoring.

Villanueva (8-8) was masterful, allowing just one hit after the first inning and whiffing 11 Rockers, including four straight and five out of six in one stretch. As a unit, the Rockers only managed a pair of singles after the first inning and had only four total base runners over the last eight innings.

The win moves the Genomes back ahead of the Rockers in the Wild Card race by one game with now 40 games remaining. The Rockers head to Gastonia for a four-game weekend series, beginning with a doubleheader at CaroMont Health Park tomorrow at 3:15. Their next home series is next weekend, August 12-14 at home against Gastonia.