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CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The High Point Rockers and the Charleston Dirty Birds were tied 3-3 after three innings but the Rockers were held scoreless the rest of the way and Charleston hit a pair of home runs to take a 6-3 decision on Saturday night at GoMart Park.

The Rockers fall to 19-28 on the year while Charleston upped its record to 16-31.

Charleston took a 3-0 lead in the first inning, touching Rockers starter Ben Wereski (L, 0-1) for the first runs he has allowed this season. After Wereski hit lead-off hitter Shawon Dunston, Jr. with a pitch, Narciso Crook doubled him home for a 1-0 Dirty Birds advantage. A single by Carlos De La Cruz plated Crook and after De La Cruz stole second, Jhon Nunez delivered an RBI single for a 3-0 lead.

High Point plated three runs in the top of the third to tie the game 3-3. Patrick Sanchez led off the inning with a double off Charleston starter Keyvius Sampson. Following a walk to Ivan Melendez, Luke Napleton belted a two-out homer to right that knotted the game.

However, that was all the scoring the Rockers could muster on the night.

Charleston second baseman Jaylen Smith hit a solo homer off Wereski leading off the third for a 4-3 lead. Wereski would go four innings, allowing five hits and four runs while walking one and striking out six. Sampson (W, 2-3) allowed four hits and three runs over his six innings with eight strikeouts and two walks.

Neither team was able to score between the fourth and seventh innings. High Point’s lone baserunner after the third came when Max Viera singled to lead-off the sixth but he was immediately erased with a 4-6-3 double play.

With Charleston holding a 4-3 lead in the eighth, Dirty Birds shortstop Wendell Rijo hit a two-run homer to extend the lead to 6-3.

The Rockers were held to five hits with Napleton’s home run and three RBI leading the offense.

Game six of the series is slated for a 12:34 p.m. start on Sunday at GoMart Park. Rocker fans can follow the action on DugoutTV.org or listen to the audio broadcast on the free MixLR app.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The Charleston Dirty Birds survived a late rally from the High Point Rockers to take game three of the six-game series 7-6 Thursday night at GoMart Ballpark.

Trailing 7-2 in the eighth, the Rockers rallied for four runs, all with two outs, to pull to within one run. But Lance Lusk came out of the bullpen and retired Ivan Melendez on a called third strike with the bases loaded.

The loss puts the Rockers at 19-26 on the year while Charleston stands at 14-31.

For the second straight night, Melendez launched a home run to left in his first at-bat of the game, putting the Rockers up 1-0 in the top of the second. But Charleston answered back in the bottom half of the second when Carlos De La Cruz doubled and would score on a sac fly from Jhon Nunez to tie the game at 1-1.

Narciso Crook homered leading off the bottom of the fourth off Rockers starter Justin Jarvis (L, 0-1) to put the Dirty Birds ahead 2-1. The lead grew to 3-1 when Yassel Pino doubled and scored on a single by C.C. Randolph.

Nick Longhi hit a solo shot with one out in the sixth to cut High Point’s deficit to 3-2.

But the Dirty Birds rallied to score three times in the bottom of the sixth off reliever Daniel Blair. De La Cruz led off the frame with a double before Pino blasted a two-run homer. Randolph followed with a solo shot for a 6-3 Charleston advantage. De La Cruz extended the lead to 7-2 with an RBI single in the seventh.

The Rockers rallied for four runs in the eighth to close the margin to 7-6. Ryan McCarthy led off with a double and Luke Napleton and Longhi followed with singles to load the bases. After Riskiel Tineo struck out Max Viera and Braxton Davidson, Bryson Parks and Patrick Sanchez hit RBI singles before DJ Burt hit a two-run single.

The Rockers were able to put a man on base in the top of the ninth but Davidson flew out to the warning track in center to end the game.

Charleston starter Jordan Jackson (W, 5-3) went six innings nd allowed six hits and two runs while walking four and striking out four. Jarvis, in his first start as a Rocker, went four innings, allowing five hits and three runs while striking out two and not allowing a walk.

Melendez was two-for-five on the night with one RBI. Burt finished with three hits for the Rockers while Sanchez and Longhi each had a pair of hits. De La Cruz led the Dirty Birds with three hits.

Game four of the series is slated for a 6:35 p.m. start on Friday at GoMart Park. High Point will send RHP Yuhi Sako (2-4, 5.71) to the mound to face Charleston RHP Keyvious Sampson (0-3, 7.12). Rocker fans can follow the action on DugoutTV.org or listen to the audio broadcast on the free MixLR app.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – When High Point Rockers manager Jamie Keefe signed infielder Ivan Melendez on Tuesday, he knew he was getting a potential impact player.

How much of an impact Melendez could make became obvious on Wednesday night as the former consensus college player of the year at the University of Texas collected four hits including two doubles and two home runs and drove in five runs in leading the Rockers to an 11-4 win over the Charleston Dirty Birds night at GoMart Park.

Melendez, who started at third base, stoked the Rockers to a 1-0 lead in the second inning when the clean-up hitter hit the second pitch he saw out of the park to left. After adding a lead-off double off the wall in the fourth, Melendez hit another double in the fifth, one of three straight doubles by the Rockers in a four-run fifth inning. He finished with a three-run homer in the eighth.

David Hess (W, 3-3) went five innings, allowing five hits and two runs while walking one and striking out five.

Not to be lost in Melendez’s debut, Ryan McCarthy collected two hits and drove in three runs for the Rockers who pounded out 11 hits on the night.

Also making his professional debut on Wednesday is former Georgia Tech hurler Caden Spivey who closed out the game with a one-two-three inning in the ninth inning.

The Rockers are now 19-25 on the season while Charleston falls to 13-31.

Melendez was the second round pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks and had reached Class AAA level last year. He had been playing in Veracruz in the Mexican League until recently. In 2022, the El Paso, Texas native won the Dick Howser Trophy and received national player of the year honors from Baseball America, DI Baseball, Collegiate Baseball and the American Baseball Coaches Association.

“It took us a while to get him here but he’s the guy we wanted,” said Keefe. “He is fun to watch. Has a very professional approach to hitting. And, most importantly, he’s happy to be here. He fits right in with the guys.”

The same two teams will play the third game of the six-game series on Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. at GoMart Park. Rocker fans can follow the action on DugoutTV.org or on the free audio app MixLR.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – In a back-and-forth contest, it was the Charleston Dirty Birds that got in the final shot, scoring five runs in the eighth inning to take a 12-9 win over the High Point Rockers in the first game of a six-game series at GoMart Park on Tuesday night.

The Rockers held an 8-7 lead going into the bottom of the eighth inning but surrendered five runs on three hits and two errors as the Dirty Birds took a 12-8 lead. The Rockers rallied for a run in the ninth that led to the 12-9 final.

High Point’s Ryan McCarthy had three hits including two home runs, scored four runs and drove home five to lead the Rockers offense. Center fielder Bryson Parks set a club record by getting hit by a pitch three times.

The Rockers are now 18-25 on the season while Charleston snapped a nine-game losing streak to improve to 13-30.

High Point took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first when McCarthy drew a two-out walk and Luke Napleton delivered a two-run homer. Charleston tied the game in its half of the first, drawing a pair of walks from High Point starter Matt Solter before Carlos De La Cruz delivered a two-run single to left.

The Dirty Birds then put up three more runs in the bottom of the second to take a 5-2 advantage. After a one-out double by Wendell Rijo, Solter walked Shawon Dunston, Jr. then allowed an RBI single to Jaylen Smith. Narciso Crook followed with a two-run single.

McCarthy’s two-run homer in the fourth drove in D.J. Burt ahead of him and pulled the Rockers within one at 5-4.

The Dirty Birds added a run in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single from Demetrius Moorer to extend the lead to 6-4.

McCarthy’s two-out solo shot to left cut Charleston’s lead to 6-5. Charleston’s Narciso Crook blooped a single to right in the sixth to score Demetrius Moorer to again make it a two-run game at 7-5.

In the top of the eighth, A walk to pinch-hitter Braxton Davidson and a single by Burt put two men on before McCarthy plated both runners with a double. Nick Longhi then beat out an infield single as McCarthy scored to give the Rockers an 8-7 lead.

Reliever Alec Barger allowed a walk and three hits and Charleston’s offense was aided by a pair of Rocker errors as the Dirty Birds plated five runs in the bottom of the eighth, just two of the runs earned.

Longhi finished the night with three hits as the Rockers out-hit Charleston 12-11.

Game two of the series is slated for 6:35 p.m. Wednesday night at GoMart Park. High Point will send righty David Hess (2-3, 4.96) to the mound to face Charleston righty Jordan Jackson (4-3, 4.72). Rocker fans can follow the action on DugoutTV.org or listen to the audio broadcast on the free MixLR app on their mobile device.

NOTES: The Rockers signed 1B/3B Ivan Melendez on Tuesday. A former second round pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Melendez was the consensus national collegiate player of the year in 2022 . . . The Rockers also added recent Georgia Tech reliever RHP Caden Spivey . . . SS Aidan Brewer and OF Chase Nixon were each placed on the seven day injured list.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Ryan McCarthy banged out three hits and drove in three runs to lead the High Point Rockers to a 7-5 win over the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs on Sunday afternoon in front of a crowd of 2,421 at Truist Point.

The win gives the Rockers a 3-3 split in the six-game series. High Point improves to 18-24 on the season while Southern Maryland continues to lead the Atlantic League’s South Division at 28-14.

McCarthy had a two-run homer in the fifth inning and an RBI single in the seventh to pace the Rockers’ 11-hit attack on Sunday. D.J. Burt, Luke Napleton and Chase Nixon each added a pair of hits.

The Rockers jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first when Burt singled, moved to second on a single by McCarthy and scored on a single by Max Viera. The Rockers increased the lead to 2-0 in the second when Nixon singled, moved to second when Nolan Watson was hit by a pitch, advanced to third on Bryson Parks’ fielder’s choice and scored on a sac fly from Luca Danos.

Rocker starter Ben Wereski went three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out four while working under a strict pitch count limit. Wereski threw 48 pitches and exited with a 2-0 lead.

Reliever Matt Colucci came on in the fourth and walked lead-off batter Phillip Sikes then yielded back-to-back homers to Ezquiel Pagan and Danny Bautista, Jr. as the Blue Crabs took a 3-2 lead.

The Rockers jumped ahead 4-3 in the fifth against Southern Maryland starter Connor Overton. After Burt hit a one-out triple to right, McCarthy followed with his fifth home run as a Rocker, hitting the scoreboard in right to score Burt ahead of him.

The Rockers’ Matt Solter came on in the seventh to relieve Colucci as the Blue Crabs regained a 5-4 lead as Brody Fahr doubled and Phillip Sikes hit a two-run homer.

But the Rockers rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh to surge to a 7-5 advantage. Danos was hit by a pitch and sacrificed to second by Patrick Sanchez before SMD reliever Dylan Beck walked Burt. McCarthy then singled home one run and Napleton followed with another RBI single. Viera’s sac fly plated Napleton with the third run of the inning.

Nick Timpanelli threw a 1-2-3 eighth inning for the Rockers and Ryan Chasse came on in the ninth to earn his second save of the season.

After an off-day on Monday, the Rockers will head to Charleston, W. Virginia to start a six-game series with the Dirty Birds with the opening game set for Tuesday night. Rocker fans can follow the action on DugoutTV.org or listen on the MixLR free app on their mobile device.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs used an eight run fifth inning to power past the High Point Rockers and claim a 13–9 victory Friday night at Truist Point in front of a crowd of 3,001. The series is now even at two games apiece with two games still remaining this weekend.

The Rockers are now 17-23 while South Division leading Southern Maryland improves to 26-13.

The Blue Crabs collected 15 hits compared to just five for the Rockers, fueling the offensive outburst. There were a total of 17 walks issued in the game, eight by High Point pitchers and nine by Southern Maryland.

Despite the loss, Luke Napleton continued his hot stretch at the plate, driving in four runs and giving him nine RBIs over his last three games. Napleton hit a two-run homer in the seventh and added an RBI double in the ninth.

Daniel Blair (L, 1-1) gets tagged with the loss, surrendering eight runs on eleven hits in his three innings of work.

The Rockers produced in the first inning for the third consecutive night, hanging a three spot to open the contest. It started with a leadoff homer off the bat of Ethan Skender that opened up the scoring. Patrick Sanchez and Ryan McCarthy both worked a walk following the homer and later came around to score due to a throwing error from the Blue Crabs first basemen.

After issuing walks to the first three batters he faced in the third inning, Rockers starter Dalton Hitt found himself in immediate trouble. Jackson Loftin took advantage, punching a two-run double. Sacrifice flies from Alejandro De Aza and Danny Bautista Jr. plated a pair of runs and capped off a four run third inning that gave Southern Maryland the 4-3 lead.

In the fourth inning, the Rockers took a 5-4 lead, scoring a pair of runs on four walks and a hit batter. Max Viera drew a bases loaded walk to bring home one run and Skender’s grounder to third plated another

The Rocker lead was short lived as Blue Crabs scored eight times in the fifth to take a 12-5 lead. Right fielder Philip Sikes clubbed a three-run homer to highlight the inning for Southern Maryland.

Nolan Watson and Napleton both homered in the home half of the seventh, but it was not enough to power a High Point comeback. Napleton has driven in nine runs through his three starts of this series.

Game four of this six game set is slated to start at 6:35 Saturday night at Truist Point. The Rockers will send Yuhi Sako (2-3, 5.25) to the hill opposed by Southern Maryland’s right-hander Kyle Virbitsky (3-1). Rocker fans can follow the action live on HomeTeamLive.com (DugoutTV) or the audio broadcast on the free app MixLR.