HIGH POINT, N.C. – Drew Mendoza drove in three runs and the High Point pitching staff held the Gastonia Ghost Peppers to five hits as the Rockers opened a three-game series with a 9-3 win on Friday night at Truist Point.

Jonah Scolaro (W, 4-4) went six innings and allowed just three hits while walking two and striking out five. Gabe Klobosits threw a pair of hitless innings in the seventh and eighth while newcomer Sam Clay made his Rockers appearance, allowing a single run in the ninth.

The Rockers jumped on the Ghost Peppers right from the start. Ben Aklinski followed Luis Gonzalez’s lead-off single with a homer to left, his 21^st of the year. When Drew Mendoza made it back-to-back homers with his 14^th of the year, the Rockers held a 3-0 lead after one.

Gastonia got a pair of runs back in the top of the third. Ethan Skender drew a walk to start the inning off Scolaro and Jake Meyer followed with a double to put runners at second and third. Nate Scantlin delivered a sac fly to score one and Jack Reinheimer’s double to center plated a second run, drawing the Ghost Peppers to within one at 3-2.

High Point grew its lead to 5-2 in the fourth when Gastonia starter Ljay Newsome  (L, 1-2) issued a lead-off walk to Braxton Davidson. Aidan Brewer then hit a sinking line drive to center that turned into his eighth homer of the year and his second inside-the-park job of the season.

The Rockers finished their scoring with a four-run sixth inning. Mendoza singled home two more runs and Alex Dickerson picked up an RBI as well.

High Point pitchers retired 13 straight Ghost Peppers from the fourth through eighth innings.

Gastonia scored in the ninth when Cole Roederer and Justin Wylie greeted Clay with singles. A fielder’s choice moved Roederer to third and he scored on a sac fly from Carter Aldrete before Clay struck out Skender to end the game.

Rockers pitchers struck out 10 batters while the High Point offense managed 10 hits with Gonzalez, Aklinski, Mendoza and Max Viera each collecting a pair.

Game two of the series is slated for a 6:35 p.m. start on Saturday at Truist Point. Rockers fans can catch all the action on FLOBASEBALL.TV and on the MixLR app.

NOTES: Rockers are 16-9 this season vs. Gastonia . . . This series marks the last time the two in-state rivals will meet during the regular season.

By Camden Connolly

HIGH POINT, N.C.- High Point’s Isaiah Mirabal hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning to drive in the go-ahead run and lead the Rockers to a 4-3 win and a series sweep of the Charleston Dirty Birds on Thursday night at Truist Point.

The win allows the Rockers to continue to hold the Atlantic League’s top overall record at 50-28, holding a two-game lead over the York Revolution. High Point is 9-6 in the second half and in second place behind South Division leader Lexington (9-5).

The win ties this Rockers team with the 2023 club for the fewest games needed to reach 50 wins at 78.

The Rockers took a 2-0 lead in the first when Ben Alkiniski blasted his 20th homer of the season off Dirty Birds’ starting pitcher, Luis De Avila, with one aboard to start the Rockers scoring.

The Dirty Birds cut the lead to 2-1 in the second when Demetruis Moorer singled to centerfield, driving in Alsander Womack to bring the Dirty Birds within one at 2-1.

In the fourth inning, after being hit by a pitch, the Rockers’ D.J. Burt stole second and advanced to third on an errant throw before scoring on a wild pitch from De Avila to give the Rockers a 3-1 lead.

Charleston tied the game in the seventh inning at 3-3 with Joseph Rosa launching a two-run homer off the Rockers’ reliever Win Scott (W, 3-0).

In the bottom of the eighth, Braxton Davidson drew a full-count walk from Charleston reliever Frank Moscatiello (L, 0-1). Max Viera pinch ran for Davidson and scooted to third when Burt launched a double into the left field corner. Mirabal then sent a deep fly ball to right as Viera scored on the sac fly to put the Rockers ahead 4-3.

Isaiah Mirabal was able to help the Rockers take back the lead in the bottom of the eighth by hitting a sacrifice fly off the Dirty Birds reliever Frank Moscatiello (L,0-1), driving in pinch runner Max Viera to give the Rockers the 4-3 advantage.

Alex Dickerson collected two more hits to extend his hitting streak to five games. He now has multiple hits in each of the last three games.

Rockers starter Fin Del Bonta-Smith was solid, throwing five innings and holding the Birds to three hits and one run while striking out six.The Rockers will remain at Truist Point for the next three-game series against the Gastonia Ghost Peppers from Friday to Sunday. Friday and Saturday’s games are both scheduled to start at 6:35 p.m., while Sunday’s contest is slated for a 4:05 p.m. Sunday is a very special day for the Rockers, as it is Hype’s birthday! Fans can expect to see Hype’s mascot friends gather together at Truist Point to celebrate his big day.  Rockers fans can catch the action on FLOBASEBALL.TV and on the MixLR app.

LANCASTER, Pa. – The Lancaster Stormers scored a 10-2 win over the High Pont Rockers on Sunday afternoon in the series finale at Penn Medicine Park. The Stormers banged out 16 hits and kept the Rockers scoreless until the ninth inning as Lancaster took the series two games to one.

High Point continues to own the best overall record in the Atlantic League at 47-28. High Point is in second place in the Atlantic League’s South Division in the second half at 6-6 and trail 8-3 Lexington.

Nick Lucky’s solo homer to right leading off the second inning put the Stormers in front 1-0. Lancaster led 2-0 through five frames after Rockers starter Jonah Scolaro (L, 3-4) allowed a fourth inning double to Alex Isola and an RBI single to Scott Kelly.

Lancaster scored six times in the sixth inning, tagging Scolaro for two runs and adding four more off reliever Daniel Blair.

The Rockers scored both of their runs in the top of the ninth off reliever Gerson Moreno. Braxton Davidson hit a solo homer, his ninth of the year and third in the last four games, to put High Point on the board. D.J. Burt added a single and he scored on a double by Aidan Brewer.

Lancaster’s Phillip Diehl (W, 1-4) earned the win in relief of starter Luke McCollough who limited the Rockers to just three hits through the first four innings.

The Rockers will return home and have an off-day on Monday. They start a six-game homestand on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. at Truist Point against the Charleston Dirty Birds. The Rockers will play three games with the Gastonia Ghost Peppers next weekend.

YORK, Pa. – The High Point Rockers broke out their offense in record-setting fashion on Wednesday afternoon, sweeping a doubleheader from the York Revolution at WellSpan Park. After winning the opener 22-12, the Rockers took the nightcap 10-8.

High Point and York had entered the game tied for the best overall record in the Atlantic League. After the sweep, the Rockers are now 46-26 while York slips to 44-28. The Rockers are 5-4 in the second half of the season.

The Rockers set club records for the most runs scored in a doubleheader, most DH sweeps in a season, and most grand slams in a season. In addition, the 22 first game runs were the second-most the Rockers have scored in a game and the 13-runs in the third inning of the opener was also the second-most in an inning. The 32 runs scored by High Point are the most-ever by the Rockers in a twinbill.

After taking a 7-0 lead in the first inning of the opener, the Revs retaliated with four runs in the first and three more in the second to tie the game at 7-7. But High Point sent 18 batters to the plate in the third inning, scoring 13 runs on eight hits with 13 consecutive hitters reaching base during one stretch.

Daniel Blair (W, 2-0) relieved starter Pat Gardner in the second inning and allowed three runs and seven hits over his 2.1 innings of work. York reliever Jordan Morales (L, 1-1) yielded four runs after coming into the game with two outs in the first in relief of starter Danny Denz. Rockers pitchers walked one and struck out seven

Every Rocker starter had at least one hit, an RBI and a run scored in the opener.

 

Game two started much the same way as game one with the Rockers scoring three runs in the top of the first, highlighted by an Alex Dickerson two-run homer. High Point added four runs in the third including another Dickerson two-run homer and a two-run triple by Nolan Watson. In the fifth, Braxton Davidson blasted a 467-foot two-run homer, the longest in the Atlantic League this season, as the Rockers took a 9-0 lead. In the top of the seventh, Ben Aklinski doubled and scored on a single by Watson for a 10-0 High Point advantage.

But the Revs rallied in the bottom of the seventh, touching Zach Vennaro for seven runs on seven hits to pull within 10-7. Rockers manager Jamie Keefe brought in Jameson McGrane with one out and the bases loaded. After allowing an RBI single, McGrane got York’s Frankie Tostado to pop out to second to end the game and secure High Point’s 10-8 win.

Ben Wereski, who signed with the Rockers on Thursday morning, went three innings in the start and allowed just three hits before yielding to Win Scott in the fourth. Scott (W, 2-0) allowed just one hit over his three innings of work and kept the Revs scoreless until the seventh.

On the day Aklinski went six-for-10 with six runs scored while Viera was five-for-10 with five RBI. Dickerson also drove in five runs on three hits in the twinbill.

The Rockers will now move 26 miles over to Lancaster and start a three-game series with the Stormers on Friday night at 6:45 p.m. at Penn Medicine Park.

NOTES: The Rockers eight hits in the first was one off the club record for hits in an inning. High Point had nine hits in the ninth inning of a 22-2 win at Spire City on July 29, 2023 . . . Max Viera’s third inning grand slam was his first slam of the season but set a club record as the ninth grand slam of the year for the Rockers . . . The 22 runs tied the aforementioned Spire City game for the second-most in a game by High Point . . . The record occurred in a 25-9 win at Lexington on July 20, 2022 . . . The 34 combined runs tied the club record previously set in the 25-9 win at Lexington . . . Ben Wereski, who signed with the Rockers Thursday morning and started game two, was pitching professionally for the first time since 2023 when he was a member of the Kansas City Royals organization. Wereski was an All-Ivy League pitcher at Columbia and pitched as a grad transfer at Rutgers . . . The Rockers have now swept all five doubleheaders they have played this season. The previous mark for most DH sweeps in a season had been three . . . The 32 runs scored in consecutive games mark the most in club history.

YORK, Pa. – The High Point Rockers took an early 1-0 lead before the York Revolution scored nine unanswered runs to take a 9-2 win on Tuesday night in the opening game of a three-game series at WellSpan Park.

The Rockers, the South Division first half champions and York, the North Division first half champion, have already secured a berth in the postseason playoffs. The York victory leaves the two clubs tied for the best overall record in the Atlantic League at 44-26. High Point is now 3-4 in the second half while York improved to 5-2.

York starter Chris Vallimont (W, 3-1) pitched six innings, holding the Rockers to six hits while striking out 13 without a walk. It marked the most strikeouts by an Atlantic League pitcher this season.

High Point grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first when outfielder Luis Gonzalez led off the game with a solo homer, his 14^th of the season.

York countered in the bottom of the first with a pair of runs as Jalen Miller doubled off Rockers starter Jonah Scolaro (L, 3-3) and then scored on a wild throw as he was stealing third base. Frankie Tostado singled and moved to second on a single by William Simoneit before scoring on a single off the bat of Shayne Fontana to give the Revs a 2-1 lead.

York’s Marty Costes led off the bottom of the third with a solo homer to push York’s advantage to 3-1. Jeffrey Wehler and Ryan Higgins each added a solo shot in the fourth for a 5-1 Revs advantage. York then added four runs in the fifth including a stretch of three straight doubles to chase Scolaro and build a 9-1 lead.

Alex Dickerson hit a solo homer with one out in the sixth to pull High Point within 9-2 but the Rockers could get no closer.

Gonzalez finished with three hits for the Rockers while York had 15 hits on the night. Fontana had a pair of hits and a team-high three RBI.

Game two of the series is slated for a 6:30 p.m. start on Wednesday and will be carried live on FLOBASEBALL.TV and on the Mixlr app.

NOTES: The Rockers signed and activated a pair of MLB veteran pitchers in righties Gabe Klobosits and David Hess. Hess pitched with the Orioles and is a two-time cancer survivor. Klobosits reached the Majors with Washington and spent the last two years with Gastonia . . . The Rockers traded LHP Mike Esposito to the New Jersey Jackals of the Frontier League in return for a player to be named later.

By Camden Connolly

HIGH POINT, N.C.- Ben Aklinski hit a two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the 10^th inning to cap a five-run rally and give the High Point Rockers a 6-5 win over the Gastonia Ghost Peppers Saturday night at Truist Point.

Tied 1-1 after nine innings, Gastonia rallied for four runs in the top of the 10^th off Justin Lewis (W, 2-1) on a two-run triple by Ethan Skender, an RBI single by Johnny Barditch and an RBI double from Cole Roederer.

But the Rockers weren’t finished. With Aidan Brewer starting the inning as the ghost runner at second, Luis Gonzalez and Max Viera drew consecutive walks off Gastonia reliever Kent Hasler (L, 1-3). A single by Drew Mendoza plated Brewer to make it a 5-2 game. Alex Dickerson then grounded to second and following the force at second, the throw to first was wild, allowing both Gonzalez and Viera to score, pulling the Rockers within one at 5-4. Aklinski then battled through an 11-pitch at-bat and hit full count pitch over the wall in left field to score Dickerson ahead of him and give the Rockers a 6-5 win.

“All we’re trying to do is get the tying run to the plate and that’s what we did tonight,” said Rockers manager Jamie Keefe. “That was one of the best at-bats I’ve seen from Ben. The guys never gave up and just kept grinding it out.”

The win puts the Rockers 43-25 overall and 2-3 in the second half. Gastonia falls to 30-38 and 2-3.

A pitcher’s duel between Rockers starter Mike Devine and Gastonia’s Ljay Newsome kept the game 1-1 through six innings. Devine, pitching professionally for the first time since 2022, went six innings and held the Peppers to one run while striking out four. Newsome allowed just two hits over five innings.

The Rockers are slated to play the final game of the three-game series against Gastonia on Sunday at 4:05 pm. The Rockers will also be celebrating their rescue dog Ruby’s birthday, and all four-legged furry friends are invited to join her at Truist Point. SPCA of the Triad will be at the ballpark collecting donations in honor of Ruby’s big day.

NOTES: The Rockers signed starter pitcher Mike Devine prior to Saturday’s game. He is slated to start the next three Saturday games. A VMI grad, Devine pitched for Southern Maryland in the Atlantic League in 2021 and last pitched for Veracruz in the Mexican League in 2022 . . . Aklinski’s walk-off homer was the second of the season for the Rockers and the fifth walk-off hit of his Rockers career, the most of any Rocker in club history.