HIGH POINT, N.C. – Zander Wiel blasted a pair of home runs to lead the High Point Rockers to a 3-2 win over Charleston on Sunday afternoon at Truist Point. The win gave the Rockers a 2-1 series win over the Dirty Birds.

Starting pitchers Jheyson Manzueta of High Point and Kevin Herget of Charleston kept both line-ups at bay through the first five innings. Manzueta allowed five hits and just a single run while walking two and striking out two. Herget held the Rockers to six hits and one run while striking out eight.

Charleston scored the first run of the game in the fifth inning when Engel Beltre doubled and scored on a single by Dirty Bird catcher Yovan Gonzalez.

The Rockers tied the game in the bottom of the sixth when Zander Wiel blasted his third home run of the season, a solo shot to left off Herget.

Lefty Adam Choplick came on in relief to start the eighth inning and retired the Dirty Birds on three infield groundouts sandwiched around a walk.

In the bottom of the eighth, Charleston reliever Justin Miller yielded a lead-off single to Quincy Latimore. Wiel then pulled a Miller offering down the left field line, tucking it inside the foul pole for a two-run homer and a 3-1 Rockers lead.

Of his second homer, Wiel said that Miller “throws the ball across the plate at a different angle so I was just looking for something middle in.”

Chasen Bradford started the top of the ninth for the Rockers and allowed a pair of singles. After a sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position, Charleston third baseman Scott Burcham flew out to right field to score Connor Justus on the sacrifice fly. Bradford then retired Scott Kelly on a fly ball to left to secure the save and the Rockers’ win.

The Rockers will have Monday off before starting a three-game home set with the Long Island Ducks on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. at Truist Point.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point Rockers had their five-game winning streak snapped on Saturday night by Charleston which posted a 7-3 win over the Rockers. A crowd of 2,402 turned out for the contest.

The Dirty Birds had 11 hits and three home runs in the contest while the Rockers recorded nine hits and a pair of home runs, both from Quincy Latimore.

Charleston touched High Point starter Neil Uskali for a pair of runs in the first. Lead-off hitter Anfernee Seymour tripled to lead off the game and scored on a two-run homer by Nick Longhi. The Dirty Birds added a run in the second when Connor Justus singled off the glove of Usakli and moved to third when the throw sailed past first baseman Jerry Downs. Justus scored on an infield groundout by Yovan Gonzalez.

In the fourth, Charleston took a 5-0 lead when Scott Kelly drove in a pair of runs with a single. Miles Williams’ solo homer leading off the fifth gave Charleston a 6-0 advantage.

High Point scored its first run in the sixth when Quincy Latimore hit a solo homer, his third of the year. The Rockers cut the lead to 6-2 in the seventh when Mike Gulino tripled and scored on a sac fly by Michael Russell. Charleston added an insurance run with Juan Perez’s solo homer to lead off the ninth.  High Point made it a 7-3 final when Latimore blasted his second homer of the game to start the ninth inning.

Usakli took the loss as his record fell to 1-1.  Jose Mesa, Jr. (2-0) threw six innings in the start for Charleston, scattering six hits and walking just one while holding the Rockers to a single run. A trio of relievers finished the game for Charleston.

The Rockers and Charleston will conclude their three-game series with the rubber match on Sunday at 4:05 p.m. at Truist Point.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point Rockers pounded out 12 hits and won their fifth straight game with a 6-3 win over Charleston on Friday night in front of 2,426 fans at Truist Point.

High Point starting pitcher Brady Lail was outstanding, going seven innings and holding the Dirty Birds to three hits while striking out nine and not allowing a walk. The Rockers’ offense was led by Jerry Downs, Quincy Latimore and Chris Proctor who all produced two hits apiece. Latimore and Ben Aklinski each drove in a pair of runs.

“Brady had three pitches going tonight, he was consistently down in the zone and he threw strikes all night long,” said Rockers manager Jamie Keefe. “It was fun to watch.”

The Rockers took an early 2-0 lead when Johnny Field and Michael Russell started the first inning with back-to-back singles. Quincy Latimore then lined an RBI single to left that drove home Field while Zander Wiel grounded out to short, bringing Rusell home with the second run of the inning.

In the second, the Rockers’ Tyler Ladendorf led off with a line drive single to left then moved to third on a single by catcher Chris Proctor. Jay Gonzalez bounced into a 6-4-3 double play but Ladendorf was able to score to put High Point ahead 3-0.

Charleston got one run back in the fifth when Connor Justus blasted a solo homer to left, his first homer of the year.

High Point added three more runs in the fifth when they loaded the bases with one out. Latimore flew out to the fence in left for a sacrifice fly that scored one run before Aklinski doubled off the wall in left to score two more.

Lail, who has spent parts of three seasons in the Major Leagues with the White Sox and Mariners, was dominant throughout his seven innings. He struck out two in the first, fourth and fifth innings and struck out the side in the third. Besides the homer to Justus, Lail was touched for a two-out triple in the first by Juan Petez and an infield single by Yovan Gonzalez in the fifth.

The Dirty Birds scored twice in the ninth off reliever Chasen Bradford. Charleston managed a pair of singles before Bradford walked former Rocker Miles Williams to load the bases. Justus lashed a two-out double to drive in both runs and account for the 6-3 final score.

High Point and Charleston will play the second game of their three-game set on Saturday night at 6:35 at Truist Point. The Rockers will send RHP Neil Uskali (1-0, 1.80 ERA) against Charleston righy Jose Mesa, Jr. (1-0, 0.00)

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point Rockers broke out the bats again on Thursday night in posting a 13-3 win over Lancaster in front of 2,001 fans at Truist Point.

The Rockers scored in double digits for the second straight night and swept the series from the Barnstormers by a total score of 32-7.

High Point started the scoring with a four-run first inning, highlighted by a two-run double by Zander Wiel and a two-run homer by Ben Aklinski.

In the fourth, the Rockers put up a franchise-record nine runs and set club records with five extra base hits, 15 total bases and nine consecutive batters reaching base in the inning.  High Point rapped a total of seven hits in the frame against three different Lancaster pitchers. Quincy Latimore belted a two-run homer, Tyler Ladendorf laced an RBI double, Jay Gonzalez hit a two-run double, Johnny Field knocked in a run with a double and Wiel had a triple.

Cooper Casad (1-0) got the win with five innings of work while holding the Barnstormers to just four hits. Lancaster starter Augie Sylk took the loss to fall to 0-2.

Four Rockers had two hits apiece including Michael Russell, Jerry Downs, Latimore and Wiel.  Latimore, Wiel, Aklinski and Gonzalez each had a pair of RBI.

The Rockers will start a three-game weekend series with the Charleston Dirty Birds on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Truist Point.  The Rockers will send righty Brady Lail (0-0) to the mound to face Charleston righty Dominic DeMasi (1-0). DeMasi posted a 7-3 record with the Rockers during their inaugural season in 2019.

There will be a fireworks show following the game.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point Rockers used 14 hits to score 14 runs in a 14-0 win over the visiting Lancaster Barnstormers Wednesday night at Truist Point.

High Point’s Zander Wiel hit two home runs, an inside-the-park homer in the second inning and a traditional way over the fence round-tripper in the eighth to account for four RBI.

The Rockers set a franchise record for largest margin of victory while scoring the third-most runs in a game.

Justin Nicolino (1-0) was brilliant on the mound for the Rockers, tossing six innings and allowing just three hits while striking out eight and not issuing a walk. Lancaster starter Dominic DiSabatino (0-2) took the loss.

Every Rocker hitter had at least one hit. Wiel led all hitter with four RBI while catcher Chris Proctor drove in three, and Tyler Ladendorf and Johnny Field had two RBI each.

The Rockers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Jerry Downs blasted a home run to right, his second of the year.

In the bottom of the second, Wiel led off with a fly ball to right. The ball hit the wall as rightfielder Mark Zagunis battled the sun. The ball rebounded back towards the infield as Wiel steamed around the bases for the first inside-the-park home run in Truist Point history, staking the Rockers to a 2-0 lead. With two outs in the second, Chris Proctor singled and back-to-back doubles by Jay Gonzalez and Field expanded High Point’s lead to 4-0.

“When I was rounding second, I thought I had an easy triple,” said Wiel about his inside-the-park homer. “But I saw Jamie waving me home and I said ’90 more feet. I’m going to be gassed but here I go.’”

High Point made it a 5-0 advantage in the fourth when Ben Aklinski was hit by a pitch leading off the frame. He moved to second on an infield ground out by Ladendorf then scored when Proctor lifted a Texas League double to left that spun into foul territory.

High Point tallied four times in the fifth with Ladendorf driving in two with a triple and Logan Morrison adding an RBI double. In the seventh, the Rockers scored twice more and then finished with three runs in the eighth. A single by Michael Russell and a walk to Morrison set the table for Wiel’s three-run blast to left.

“Out bats really woke up tonight,” said Rockers manager Jamie Keefe. “We were grinding out some runs early in the game then Zander really broke out. A true inside-the-park homer. I haven’t seen one of those in a while.

“Defensively, a couple of plays Jay Gonzalez made in the outfield saved us a couple of runs. Justin (Nicolino) was outstanding from the first pitch and he pitched all the way up to the 90-pitch mark and really threw the ball well. And the two kids each got to pitch and that was outstanding.”

The two kids Keefe referred to were a couple of rookies who made their professional debuts vs. Lancaster. Righthander Max McDowell pitched the eighth inning for the Rockers and retired the Barnstormers with just one walk. Gavin Weyman pitched a one-two-three inning in the ninth. The pair signed with the Rockers on Wednesday to fill a hole in the bullpen left by minor injuries to relievers Austin Glorius and Johnny Barbato. Weyman is a former college pitcher at Towson who now works with the High Point University baseball team. McDowell pitched at St. Michael’s College in Vermont and was noticed by the Rockers staff while playing with the barnstorming Black Sox during an exhibition game in High Point.

High Point and Lancaster will conclude their three-game set on Thursday at 6:35 at Truist Point.  The Rockers will send righthander Cooper Casad (0-0, 1.50) to the mound to face Lancaster lefty Augie Sylk (0-1, 9.00).