HIGH POINT, N.C. – The Gastonia Honey Hunters scored in each of the final six innings and claimed the Atlantic League’s South Division Championship with a 9-3 win over the High Point Rockers on Monday afternoon at Truist Point.

Gastonia now advances to the Atlantic League Championship Series against North Division champion Lancaster. The Barnstormers advanced by sweeping the Long Island Ducks in the North Division Championship series. The first game of the League Championship Series is slated for a 6:30 p.m. start on Tuesday night at Lancaster’s Clipper Magazine Stadium.

Gastonia scored eight unanswered runs after the Rockers had taken a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Beau Taylor staked the Rockers to an early 1-0 lead with a solo homer in the second inning. Gastonia’s Zach Jarrett answered back in the top of the fourth with a solo shot of his own. Scott Manea followed Jarrett’s homer with a single before Braxton Davidson grounded into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.

A homer by Ryan Grotjohn, his second in as many days, put High Point ahead 2-1 in the top of the fourth. But that would be the last time the Rockers would score until a desperate ninth inning rally fell short.

Gastonia tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the fifth. Eric De La Rosa singled to right then was able to take second when Ben Aklinski bobbled the ball. De La Rosa scored on a double by David Washington.

The Rockers had an opportunity to answer in the fifth when Michael Martinez reached second following a single and a fly out. D.J. Burt hit a liner towards right but Gastonia second baseman Kevin Santa made a tremendous leap to make the catch and deprive the Rockers of what would have been a go-ahead run.

Jason Rogers’ solo homer off High Point starter Justin Nicolino leading off the top of the sixth gave the Honey Hunters a 3-2 lead. Nicolino exited after the sixth, having allowed six hits and three runs, two earned while not issuing a walk and striking out six.

Sam Selman yielded a run in the seventh as Gastonia took a 4-2 lead. A single by De La Rosa coupled with a stolen base put him in scoring position when Jake Hoover doubled.

Gastonia sealed the win with four runs in the eighth off Jameson McGrane. A second homer from Rogers was followed by a single from Jarrett, a walk to Manea and a two-run double by Davidson. The Honey Hunters added a final run in the ninth when Hoover doubled off Jheyson Manzueta who would then walk three straight batters to provide Gastonia’s ninth run.

Gastonia starter Gunnar Kines hurled the first six innings and earned the win, allowing three hits and two runs while striking out four. Normally a starting pitcher, Zach Mort came out of the bullpen and shutdown the Rockers’ offense over the final four innings. He allowed just one hit from the sixth through eighth innings while striking out six. Mort was named the Division Championship Series MVP following the game, having earned a win in Game 2 and then a four-inning save in Game 5.

The Rockers mounted a final comeback attempt in the ninth when Grotjohn led off with a double and Aklinski beat out an infield single. Taylor doubled home Grotjohn but Mort was able to retire Michael Martinez on a fly ball to left to end the game.

“That’s one helluva ball club over there,” said Rockers manager Jamie Keefe of the Honey Hunters. “Gastonia earned that and they beat us. All 30 of our guys gave it everything they had and you can’t ask for more than that.

“This is a tough game and it will rip your heart out sometimes, and that’s what it’s doing right now. But at the end of the day, I’d go back to war with all 30 of these guys and play another 124 games. You spend 180 days with these guys and I can’t tell you just how special this team is. It’s a team that’s got each others back every single day.”

The Rockers did accomplish a number of milestones in 2023, posting the most wins in club history and reaching the playoffs for a second consecutive year. High Point was the South Division first half champion and shared that honor with Gastonia in the second half.

Each of the ALPB League Championship Series games will be streamed live on FLO Baseball.

 

 

 

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Ben Aklinski lined a single to left with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth to lead the High Point Rockers to a 3-2 win over Gastonia on Sunday afternoon at Truist Point. The win forced a deciding Game 5 in the Atlantic League South Division Championship series as the series is tied at two games apiece. The winner of Monday’s game will advance to the ALPB League Championship series which begins at Lanaster, Pa. on Tuesday night.

Game 5 at Truist Point is scheduled for noon on Monday. Admission will be free and no tickets are necessary.

“We knew it was win or go home today,” said Aklinski. “Just got to get it done. Going through an at-bat late in the game, the main thing is just to hit strikes. So many times you see guys trying to do too much and swinging at pitches outside the zone. I just wanted to hit a strike and hit a fly ball. I told myself ‘You do not need to hit a home run right now. It would be cool but don’t even think about it. A 300-foot fly ball and you’ll be fine.’”

Brian Parreira led off the dramatic ninth inning with a bloop single to right. Nilo Rijo pinch-ran for Parreira at first and went to second on a single through the right side by D.J. Burt. After Steffon Moore (L, 1-1) induced a fly ball out from Shed Long, Jr., Ryan Grotjohn reached on a walk to load the bases. Gastonia turned to closer Graham Spraker as Aklinski lined the game-winning base hit into the alley in left-center, scoring Rijo and giving the Rockers the 3-2 win.

The game was tight throughout with neither team scoring in the sixth, seventh or eighth innings.

Braxton Davidson homered off High Point starter Brandon Leibrandt to lead-off the top of the second and give Gastonia an early 1-0 lead.

High Point tied the game when Long, Jr. started the third inning with a walk. After stealing second, he moved to third on a long fly ball by Grotjohn for the first out of the inning. Aklinski followed with a double to score Long, Jr. and tie the game at 1-1.

Gastonia took a 2-1 lead in the fifth when David Washington singled, moved to second on a sac bunt by Kevin Santa and scored on a single to left by Jake Hoover. The Rockers answered right back in the bottom half of the fifth as Grotjohn hit a solo homer to right to tie the game at 2-2.

Gastonia starter Sal Romano went four innings and allowed five hits with one walk and two strikeouts. Lefty Grant Larson pitched the fifth and sixth and left with one on and one out in the seventh. Moore entered the game with one out in the eighth and struck out Beau Taylor and Michael Martinez to end the inning and keep the game tied at 2-2.

Leibrandt hurled seven strong innings, spreading out seven hits while walking one and striking out five. Ryan Dull kept the Honey Hunters scoreless in the eighth and Jameson McGrane (W, 2-0) pitched around one base hit in the ninth to earn the win.

“That’s a helluva team over there,” said Rockers manager Jamie Keefe of the Honey Hunters. “We knew how this game was going to go down and who it would come down to. That’s who we are. (Aklinski) is going to put the ball in play and he’s probably going to hit it in the air. I don’t know how else to say it, that’s just who we are. The heart attack kids. We’re going to give you everything we’ve got and you’ve got to get 27 outs.”

Game 5 will start at noon on Monday, September 25 at Truist Point. The game will be streamed live on FLO Baseball and also available on the Mixlr app.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Gastonia broke an 8-8 tie in the sixth inning and scored the final three runs of the game in an 11-8 win over the High Point Rockers on Friday night in Game 3 of the Atlantic League South Division Championship series.

Like a heavyweight title fight, the two clubs traded blows throughout the first five innings. High Point received outstanding offensive performances from right fielder Ben Aklinski who slammed three extra base hits and drove in five runs, and second baseman Shed Long, Jr. who collected four hits on the night.

The loss gives Gastonia a 2-1 lead in the best of five series. Game 4 is slated for a 6:35 p.m. start on Saturday night at Truist Point. Lancaster defeated Long Island 7-2 on Friday night to sweep the Ducks and advance to the League Championship Series as the North Division champion.

The Honey Hunters were able to push across a run in the first to take a 1-0 lead. Jack Reinheimer reached on an infield single before Rockers starter Mickey Jannis walked Jason Rogers and Zach Jarrett to load the bases. Scott Manea grounded a ball up the middle which shortstop Ryan Grotjohn fielded and retired Manea at first as Reinheimer scored.

The Rockers bounced back in the second as lead-off hitter Long, Jr. lined the first pitch he saw back through the box for a single. Aklinski followed with a moon shot homer to left that appeared to want to hook foul if not for a strong left to right wind that held it fair to give the Rockers a 2-1 lead.

In the bottom of the second, the Honey Hunters used four hits and walk off Jannis, including a two-run triple from DH Jason Rogers, to score four times and take a 5-2 lead.

The Rockers turned to veteran starter Craig Stem to start the third and he retired Gastonia in order for the first time in the game. The Rockers quickly responded in the third with three runs to tie the game at 5-5. Grotjohn drew a leadoff walk from Gastonia starter Brett Daniels. Aklinski then lined a double off the center field wall to score Grotjohn. After Quincy Latimore struck out, Zander Wiel doubled home Aklinski and then Wiel came around on an RBI single from Daikan Yoh.

The Rockers continued their rally in the fourth. Long, Jr. singled and stole second ahead of a walk to Grotjohn. Aklinski then doubled, his third extra base hit of the game, scoring both runners to put High Point up 7-5.

In the top of the fifth, Braxton Davidson led off with a homer to pull Gastonia to within one at 7-6. Eric De La Rosa doubled and scored on a single by Kevin Santa to tie the game. Rogers followed with a single to score Santa and put Gastonia up 8-7.

The Rockers tied the game at 8-8 in the bottom of the fifth when Michael Martinez drew a walk from reliever Steffon Moore. When Moore threw over to first, Martinez took off for second and the throw bounced off first baseman David Washington’s glove and down the right field line. Martinez was able to motor all the way around to score to knot tie the game.

Gastonia forged a 9-8 lead in the top of the sixth on a walk to Manea. Pinch-runner Pedro Gonzalez moved to second on a wild pitch and took third on a single by Braxton Davidson before scoring on a double by De La Rosa.

In the top of the eighth, the Rockers brought on Jeremy Rhoades to start the inning. The first batter he faced, Zach Jarrett, hit a 106 MPH liner back to the mound, catching Rhoades in the nose. Sam Selman relieved and the first batter he faced, Manea, hit a homer and then stood at the plate for quite some time admiring his handiwork. That gave the Honey Hunters an 11-8 lead.

The Rockers were able to load the bases in the ninth off closer Graham Spraker before he was able to strike out Martinez, Brian Parreira and Long, Jr. for the final out of the game.

Saturday’s game four is scheduled for a 6:35 p.m. start at Truist Point. The game will be streamed live on FLO Baseball and also available on the Mixlr app.