WALDORF, Md. – The High Point Rockers jumped off to an early 3-0 lead, fell behind, and rallied for a 6-4 win on Opening Night in the Atlantic League on Friday at Southern Maryland.

HIGHLIGHTS

Impressive pitching from the Rockers bullpen paved the way for the win along with timely offense. Lefty Jacob Edwards (1-0) earned the win with four innings of shutout baseball, allowing just one hit. Newcomer Tommy Doyle, a former Major League reliever with Colorado, pitched the final two innings, striking out five of the seven hitters he faced while pitching around a single. On the night, the Rockers’ staff allowed just four hits while striking out 10.

The Rockers sprinted to an early 3-0 lead. After Southern Maryland starter Shawn Semple struck out lead-off hitter Cody Wilson, Luis Gonzalez drew a walk. With two outs, Evan Edwards blasted a home run to right to stake the Rockers to a 2-0 lead. DH Max Viera then slapped his first professional base hit to left. He moved to third on a single by Drew Mendoza and scored on a single by D.J. Burt.

High Point starter Kyle Barraclough drew the Opening Night start and allowed only one hit while striking out three through the first two innings. But he ran into trouble in the third as he allowed the first five Blue Crabs to reach base on a single, two walks and two hit batters. Two more walks each forced in a run before Sam Dexter lifted a sac fly to give SMD a 4-3 lead.

High Point’s Ben Aklinski tied the game at 4-4 when he led off the fifth with a solo homer to left. Southern Maryland reliever Jalen Miller then walked Evan Edwards and hit Viera with a pitch to put two runners on. Drew Mendoza blooped a single to right to load the bases before catcher Isaiah Mirabal drew a walk to force in Evan Edwards and give the Rockers a 5-4 lead. Jacob Edwards entered in the fourth and went four strong innings, shutting down Southern Maryland.

The Blue Crabs brought in Rafi Vasquez in the eighth inning and Viera greeted him with a lead-off homer to left for his first professional homer and a 6-4 Rockers lead.

Doyle was nearly unhittable over the eighth and ninth innings, fanning five and earning the save in his Rockers debut.

 

NOTES:  For the first time in Rockers history, manager Jamie Keefe started two professional rookies on Opening Night . . . DH Max Viera and catcher Isaiah Mirabal each made their professional debut . . . Viera collected his first professional hit and his first career homer . . . The Rockers on Thursday signed reliever Tommy Doyle, an MLB veteran, who made his ALPB debut on Friday night.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point Rockers and the Gastonia Ghost Peppers played to a 3-3 tie on Saturday night at Truist Point.

The Rockers tallied a pair of runs in the first inning when Luis Gonzalez doubled and was followed by Ben Aklinski’s two-run homer. High Point added a run in the second on an Aidan Brewer single and Gonzalez’s RBI single.

Gastonia tallied a solo run in the third on a sac fly from Dalton Guthrie. The Peppers added a pair of runs in the third on an RBI single from Eric De La Rosa and a sac fly off the bat of Gavin Stupienski.

The Rockers used six pitchers on the night. Starter Brandon Backman went three innings and Sonny Fauci tossed the fourth and fifth innings. Each recorded three strikeouts. Akeel Morris, Cole Roland and Jared Henry each tossed one inning while Jeff Heinrich closed out the game in the ninth. Heinrich allowed a lead-off double but then struck out the side.

“We saw exactly what we thought we’d see, two good teams going at it,” said Rockers manager Jamie Keefe. “Our pitching was good and we had some young guys out there really battling. The next three days will be crucial (leading up to cut down day). We have some really tough decisions ahead of us.”

The Rockers will continue to practice at Truist Point during the coming week before heading to Southern Maryland for the season opener on Friday, April 25. The Rockers open at home on Friday, May 2 against the Lexington Legends.

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. – The High Point Rockers won their third straight game, defeating the Long Island Ducks 4-1 on Thursday night to keep the Rockers’ postseason hopes alive. D.J. Burt drove in a pair of runs to lead High Point’s offensive charge.

With Charleston losing at Gastonia on Thursday afternoon, the Rockers inched closer to earning the Atlantic League’s wild card spot in the playoffs. The Rockers can earn the league’s wild card berth if Gastonia wins the next three games against Charleston. That would give Gastonia both the first and second half South Division pennants. In that case, the next team to get into the playoffs would be the Rockers who have the league’s third-best full season overall record.

But in order for the wild card team to get an invite, Gastonia will need to defeat Charleston three more times over the weekend.

The Rockers took care of their end with Thursday night’s 4-1 win over the Ducks.

High Point opened the scoring with a run in the third against Long Island starter Mitchell Senger (L, 0-2). D.J. Burt hit a solo homer, putting the Rockers up 1-0.

High Point extended its lead in the top of the seventh when Quincy Nieporte doubled just inside the left field line and then scored on Michael Martinez’s double to right center to put the Rockers in front 2-0. Burt then knocked in his second run as he lined a single up the middle as Martinez came around to score to put the Rockers on top 3-0.

The Rockers opened up a 4-0 gap in the eighth when Ryan Grotjohn drew a walk from Long Island reliever Al Alburquerque. Ben  Aklinski’s grounder to short resulted in a throw to second that Grotjohn beat to put two runners on. Grotjohn moved to third when Evan Edwards grounded to first. When Edwards tried to steal second, catcher Aaron Antonini throw to second sailed into center field for an error, allowing Grotjohn to score.

High Point starter Mickey Jannis (W, 3-0) went five innings, scattering eight hits while shutting out the Ducks on five strikeouts. Dakota Chalmers threw shutout the Ducks through the sixth and seventh innings while striking out three.

Long Island broke up the shutout in the bottom of the eighth against High Point reliever Will Carter. Antonini singled and was replaced by pinch-runner J.C. Encarnacion. Encarnacion stole second and third then scored on a single by Taylor Kohlwey before Carter pitched himself out of trouble.

Burt was the only Rocker with two hits on the night. Long Island was led by Yonny Hernandez who had three hits while Kohlwey had a pair of hits and the lone RBI.

On Friday, the Rockers will send lefty Derrick Adams (2-3, 4.37 ERA) to the mound to face Ducks’ righty Sal Romano (2-0, 4.12 ERA).

NOTES: Thursday’s win was Mickey Jannis’ 18^th win as a Rocker, extending his career wins record.

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. – High Point first baseman Evan Edwards hit a pair of home runs and drove in five runs in leading the Rockers to a 7-2 win over the Long Island Ducks at Fairfield Properties Ballpark on Wednesday night. The win keeps the Rockers’ hopes for an Atlantic League postseason berth alive.

The Rockers (34-25) are tied for second in the South Division along with Gastonia. Charleston, which took an 8-4 decision from Gastonia on Wednesday, leads the division at 37-22. Both High Point and Gastonia are three games back with four contests remaining.

Edwards hit a solo homer leading off the third inning then added a three-run homer in the seventh. He added an RBI single in the fifth inning.

Each team loaded the bases in the first inning but only Long Island was able to capitalize. With two outs, Joe DeLuca lined a single to center to score Taylor Kohlwey and put the Ducks on top 1-0.

High Point tied the game at 1-1 with two outs in the second when D.J. Burt doubled to left and scored when Martin Figueroa lined a double into the rightfield corner.

Evan Edwards blasted a homer to right leading off the third to put the Rockers in front 2-1.

Long Island used back-to-back two-out hits to tie the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth off High Point starter Yuhi Sako. Kole Kaler singled and stole second before scoring on a single by Nick Heath.

High Point took a 3-2 lead in the fifth. With two outs, Ben Aklinski doubled to left. Edwards then ripped a shot to the right side that Ducks’ second baseman Alexis Pantoja dove and stopped but his throw to starting pitcher Nick Tropeano (L, 4-2) covering first pulled him off the bag. Aklinski never stopped running and scored without a throw. Connor Owings then blooped a base hit to right that fell in and Edwards was able to score while Owings took second on the throw to the plate.

Edwards struck again with a three-run homer in the seventh, plating both Martin Figueroa and Ryan Grotjohn who each drew a walk from Ducks reliever Justin Alintoff. Edwards’ blast put the Rockers up 7-2.

Sako went 4.1 innings, allowing eight hits and two runs while walking three and striking out eight. Justin Lewis (W, 1-0) tossed 1.2 innings of hitless relief while Zach Vennaro put the Ducks down in order in the seventh. Austin Warner allowed one hit and a walk while striking out four in his two innings of work to close the game.

Edwards was three-for-four on the night with five RBI while Figueroa and Owings each drove in a run. Owings and Figueroa each had three hits to contribute to High Point’s 12-hit attack. DeLuca led the Ducks with a pair of hits and an RBI.

Thursday the Rockers will send knuckleballer Mickey Jannis (2-0, 4.26) to the mound to face Long Island’s Mitchell Senger (0-1, 7.10). Game time is 6:35 p.m. at Fairfield Properties Ballpark.

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. – The High Point Rockers took a 9-7 decision in 11 innings from the Long Island Ducks on Wednesday night at Fairfield Properties Ballpark, keeping the Rockers’ hopes for an Atlantic League postseason berth alive.

Tied at 5-5 after nine innings, the Rockers took a 7-5 lead in the top of the 10^th before Long Island answered with two runs of its own to force an 11^th ining.

In the 11^th, with Ben Aklinski starting the frame at second, Evan Edwards singled to right to move Aklinski to third. Connor Owings brought home Aklinski with a sac fly to right to give High Point an 8-7 advantage. Edwards then stole second and Long Island reliever Daniel Corcino walked Gilberto Jimenez to put two Rockers aboard. Aidan Brewer then grounded a ball up the middle that hit the second base bag and continued into center, scoring Edwards and moving Jimenez to third. A walk to Brian Parreira loaded the bases but D.J. Burt fouled out to right and Brewer was doubled off second as the Rockers took a 9-7 lead to the bottom of the 11^th.

High Point sent lefty Jacob Edwards (S, 1) to the mound in the bottom of the 11^th. He struck out Nick Heath, induced a ground out to short from Yonny Hernandez and got Leobaldo Cabrera to line out to third to end the game.

The win keeps the Rockers (33-25) alive in their race for an Atlantic League playoff berth. Gastonia (34-24) defeated Charleston 3-2 on Tuesday night, handing the Dirty Birds (36-22) their fourth straight loss. The Rockers are three games back of Charleston with five left to play.

Martin Figueroa staked the Rockers to a 1-0 lead when he hit a lead-off homer. Long Island tied the game at 1-1 in the third when Hernandez singled home Kole Kaler.

Edwards blasted a solo homer leading off the fourth to give the Rockers a 2-1 advantage. But Long Island catcher Aaron Antonini hit a solo homer to right to tie it up at 2-2.

The Ducks forged a 4-2 lead in the sixth when Joe DeLuca hit a two-run homer off Rockers’ starter Jeremy Rhoades (4-3).

The Rockers loaded the bases in the seventh when Brian Parreira walked, Figueroa singled to left and Ryan Grotjohn drew a walk. The Ducks replaced reliever Rolando Casihis with Peyton Williams. Williams gave up a sac fly to Ben Aklinski as Parreira scored. Williams then hit Edwards with a pitch to re-load the bases. Connor Owings then slapped a single up the middle, scoring Figueroa and Grotjohn as the Rockers took a 5-4 lead.

Garrett Schilling replaced Rhoades with two outs in the sixth and started the seventh by allowing a bloop single to Kole Kaler. Schilling was called for a balk, moving Kaler to second and he scored on a double to left by Nick Heath to tie the game at 5-5.

In the top of the eighth, the Rockers were able to put runners on the corners when D.J. Burt singled and Figueroa followed with a single, his third of the night. The Ducks turned again to the bullpen, bringing in Tyler Vail who was able to escape the frame by retiring Grotjohn on a fly out to center.

The Rockers sent Dakota Chalmers to the mound in the eighth and pitched around a double by Taylor Kohlwey to keep the Ducks off the board and the game tied.

Aklinski drew a walk to start the ninth and stole second before Gilberto Jimenez lined a single to right but Yoelquis Cespedes’ throw to the plate was in time to prevent the Rockers from taking the lead.

Jameson McGrane (2-3) started the ninth on the mound for the Rockers and put the Ducks down in order.

Long Island went with Daniel Corcino in the top of the 10^th with Jimenez placed on second base. Nieporte singled down the line in left, scoring Jimenez and then moving to second when the throw back to the infield got away from the Ducks. With Aidan Brewer pinch-running for Nieporte at second, Burt singled to right, giving the Rockers runners on first and third. Corcino then walked Figueroa to load the bases with one out. Grotjohn lined out to center but it was deep enough to score Brewer from third on the sac fly, giving High Point a 7-5 lead.

Will Carter (W, 1-1) came in to pitch for the Rockers in the 10^th and allowed a single to Leobaldo Cabrera, scoring Hernandez from second. Carter then struck out Alan Marrero on a fouled third strike bunt attempt. Carter then hit Cespedes with a pitch to put runners on first and second. DeLuca then beat out an infield single to load the bases. Carter then walked Kohlway to force in Cabrera and tie the game at 7-7.

Rockers manager Jamie Keefe brought in Aklinski from his spot in centerfield to serve as a fifth infielder. Long Island’s Alexis Pantoja grounded to Burt at second who threw home to cut down the winning run at the plate. Carter then fanned Kole Kaler to leave the game tied and send it to the 11^th.

The series resumes on Wednesday night at 6:35 p.m. at Fairfield Properties Ballpark. The Rockers will send Yuhi Sako to the mound to face Long Island righty Nick Tropeano (4-1).