GASTONIA, N.C. – Gastonia’s Dean Miller singled home pinch-runner Jake Hoover with the winning run as Gastonia won the opening game of a three-game series with High Point on Tuesday night at Caromont Health Park.

The win pushed the Gastonia Baseball Club two games in front of High Point in the South Division race for the first half pennant. Gastonia is now 33-15 while the Rockers fall to 31-17. Each team has 15 games remaining in the first half.

Tied at 6-6 after nine innings, the Rockers were able to push a run across in the top of the 10^th. Gastonia took advantage of the “ghost runner” at second as Justin Wylie laid down a sac bunt to put Hoover at third. Miller then singled to right to score Hoover with the winning run.

Gastonia took a 1-0 lead in the first when High Point starter Jonah Scolaro loaded the bases on a pair of walks and a hit batter. Eric De La Rosa then drew a walk to force home Kevin Watson, Jr. for the first run of the game.

Gastonia’s lead grew to 2-0 in the second when Jack Reinheimer belted a solo homer with two outs.

The Rockers got on the scoreboard in the third when D.J. Burt reached on a throwing error by Gastonia second baseman Justin Wylie which left Burt at second. Martin Figueroa then singled to center to bring Burt around and pull the Rockers to within a run a 2-1.

Scolaro retired the first two hitters he faced in the third then allowed back-to-back solo homers to Marc Flores and Wylie as Gastonia pushed its lead to 4-1.

In the fourth inning, Gastonia put runners on second and third before High Point called on Zach Muckenhirn out of the bullpen. He allowed a sac fly to Jake Gatewood as the GBC increased its lead to 5-1.

Scolaro struggled for the first time this season, allowing seven hits, four walks and five runs in 3.1 innings of work.

High Point cut the deficit to 5-3 with a pair of runs in the sixth. The Rockers loaded the bases when Connor Owings drew a walk, Brian Parreira singled and Evan Edwards was hit by a pitch. Ben Aklinski then lined a single back up the middle to score both Owings and Parreira.

The contest became a one-run game in the sixth when Zander Wiel homered, his 11^th of the year, to leave the Rockers trailing 5-4. Gastonia’s Josh Stowers drew a walk from Muckenhirn in the bottom of the sixth and eventually scored on a sac fly by Gatewood to give Gastonia a 6-4 lead.

In the top of the seventh, Evan Edwards smacked a two-out single to set the scene for Aklinski to tie the game with a homer to left, his 10^th of the year.

Garrett Schilling (L, 0-1) too the loss as he pitched the 10^th inning. Gastonia’s Gabe Klobosits (W, 2-3) earned the win with one inning of relief work.

Game two of the series is scheduled for 7 pm on Wednesday at Gastonia’s CaroMont Health Park.

LANCASTER, Pa. – The High Point Rockers won their seventh straight game, downing the Lancaster Stormers 3-1 on Saturday night at Clipper Magazine Stadium.

It was another outstanding pitching performance as four Rockers pitchers held the Stormers to five hits and a single run while walking two and striking out nine.

Ryan Grotjohn continued his hot hitting, singling home Ben Aklinski in the first to give the Rockers a 1-0 lead.  That lead grew to 3-0 in the fourth when Zander Wiel singled to lead off the inning before catcher Brian Parreira blasted a two-run homer, his fourth of the year.

High Point starter Cam Bedrosian (W, 2-0) tossed six shutout innings, holding the Stormers to four hits while walking two and striking out five. After walking Lancaster third baseman Trace Loehr in the third inning, Bedrosian retired 11 straight Stormers through the end of the sixth.

Zach Muckenhirn relieved Bedrosian in the seventh and allowed a double to Gaige Howard. Howard moved to third on a ground out to third and then scored on Jack Conley’s groundout to third.

Lancaster starting pitcher Carsie Walker (L, 2-3) went six innings and walked three while allowing six hits and three runs.

Ryan Meisinger put the Stormers down in order in the eighth as did Jameson McGrane (S, 9) in the ninth to earn his ninth save of the season.

The Rockers will go for an eighth straight victory in the series finale on Sunday at 3 o’clock at Clipper Magazine Stadium.

NOTES: High Point’s pitching staff shutout Lancaster for the first 15 and 1/3 innings of the series before the Stormers tallied a run in the seventh inning Saturday . . .Ryan Grotjohn has hit in 11 straight games is hitting .487 (19 of 39) during the streak . . . High Point’s starting pitchers have allowed just one run over the last three starts, a span of 18 innings . . . In Lancaster, Neil Ramirez (Friday) and Cam Bedrosian (Saturday) have allowed five hits over 12 innings and no runs in their 12 innings . . . High Point’s seven-game winning streak is its longest since winning eight straight from May 2-9, 2023.

LANCASTER, Pa. – High Point’s Connor Owings hit a two-run homer in the second inning and that was all the Rockers’ pitching staff needed in taking a 2-0 win from the Lancaster Stormers in the series opener at Clipper Magazine Stadium on Friday night.

Owings’ homer followed a bloop single by Ryan Grotjohn off Lancaster starter Noah Bremer (L, 4-2).

High Point starter Neil Ramirez (W, 2-2) was spectacular, holding Lancaster to just one hit through six innings while not allowing a walk and striking out five. The lone hit was a bunt single by the Stormers’ Jack Conley in the third. After stealing second, Conley was stranded when Ramirez induced fly outs from Kyle Kasser and Shawon Dunston, Jr.

Austin Ross allowed a triple to Lancaster’s Chris Proctor in the seventh but then retired Gaige Howard on a ground ball to short to escape the threat. Garrett Schilling pitched around a single by Conley to keep the Stormers scoreless through eight.

Trace Loehr beat out a single to the hole at short with one out in the ninth off closer Jameson McGrane (S, 8). McGrane then fanned Joseph Carpenter for the second out and popped up Proctor but a miscommunication allowed the ball to fall untouched in the infield as Carpenter moved to third and Proctor took second. Gaige Howard then bounced out to Owings at third to put the finishing touch on the Rockers win.

The win moves the Rockers to 29-16 on the season.

Game two of the series is scheduled for Saturday night at 6:45 p.m. at Clipper Magazine Stadium.

NOTES:  The game last just 2:03, the fastest nine-inning game of the season for the Rockers . . . Neither pitching staff issued a walk in the game while striking out a combined 17 hitters.

Gastonia was beating Lexington 6-3 in the seventh inning at Lexington . . . A Gastonia loss would pull the Rockers to within one game of first in the South Division . . . A Gastonia win would keep the Rockers two games behind with 18 games left in the first half.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Shortstop Ryan Grotjohn went six-for-seven and Zander Wiel hit a tie-breaking home run to help the High Point Rockers sweep a doubleheader from Staten Island on Wednesday, winning 4-3 in the opener and 4-2 in the nightcap.

Along with his six hits, Grotjohn scored three runs and added an RBI.

Wiel slammed a solo homer in the top of the seventh inning of the opening game to lead the Rockers to a 4-3 win.

In the opener, the Rockers took a1-0 lead in the second when Grotjohn singled, stole second and scored on a single by D.J. Burt. The ‘Hawks tied the game in the bottom of the second with a solo homer from Abiatal Avelino.

Back-to-back doubles from Ben Aklinski and Colin Moran leading off the top of the third gave the Rockers a 2-1 lead. Staten Island forged ahead 3-2 in the fourth on a single by Joe Dunand and a two-run homer from Luis Castro.

Grotjohn led off the sixth with a double to center and scored on a single by Burt to knot the game at 3-3.

Jonah Scolaro went five innings for the Rockers , scattering five hits. David McKay (W, 3-0) pitched a scoreless sixth inning to earn the victory with Jameson McGrane earning his seventh save.

In the nightcap, the Rockers scored all four runs in the fourth inning. Singles by Clayton Mehlbauer and Burt put two men on before Martin Figueroa singled to score Mehlbauer with Burt caught trying to move from first to third. Grotjohn followed with a triple to right that scored Figueroa for a 2-0 lead. Aklinski’s sac fly to right delivered Grotjohn to the plate and a 3-0 advantage. Colin Moran then homered to dead center field, his sixth of the year, for a 4-0 High Point advantage.

A Ben Norman homer in the sixth pulled the FerryHawks to within three at 4-1. Norman singled home another run in the seventh to make it a 4-2 game.

Ryan Weiss (W, 3-4) tossed six strong innings for the Rockers, allowing just four hits while striking out eight. Garrett Schilling (S, 1) earned his first save of the year by pitching the seventh inning.

The Rockers are three games back of South Division-leading Gastonia. High Point is 27-16 and has won four straight games while Gastonia is 30-13 and has won eight straight games.

The third and final game of the series with the FerryHawks is slated for a 6:30 p.m. start at SIUH Community Park on Thursday.

HIGH POINT, N.C – High Point used the long ball to blast three home runs in the first two innings to power the Rockers to a 6-0 win over Staten Island Sunday afternoon at Truist Point. The win gave the Rockers a 2-1 series victory over the FerryHawks.

The Rockers got on the board in the bottom of the first when Evan Edwards blasted a two-run homer to score Martin Figueroa who reached with a lead-off single. Zander Wiel smacked a solo home run later in the first inning to give the Rockers a 3-0 advantage.

Figueroa hit another two-run homer for the Rockers in the second, scoring D.J Burt who reached on a base hit. High Point’s offense chased starter Matt Reitz (L,0-3) after 1.2 innings after he allowed five hits and five runs and was replaced by William Kirwan. 

High Point starter Cam Bedrosian (W, 1-0) went five innings and kept the Staten Island offense at bay, allowing just three hits while striking out six. High Point relievers Austin Ross, Zach Vennaro and Jameson McGrane each contributed to the shutout effort out of the bullpen.

Ryan Grotjohn tallied another home run after he smacked the first pitch of the ninth inning out of the park, giving the Rockers a 6-0 lead.  

The Rockers will have Monday and Tuesday off before heading to New York and starting a three-game series at Staten Island on Wednesday night with a 4 p.m. doubleheader. The next Rockers home stretch will start on Friday, June 21st at 6:35 p.m. against Southern Maryland.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Second baseman D.J. Burt and catcher Jake Washer combined to drive in seven runs in the High Point Rockers 8-4 win over the Staten Island FerryHawks on Saturday night in front of a crowd of 2,308 at Truist Point.

Burt had an RBI single and a three-run homer from the No. 9 spot in the batting order while No. 8 hitter Washer contributed a pair of hits and three RBI including a two-run double.

The Rockers built an 8-0 lead through the first five innings and cruised home after that.

High Point started the scoring with an RBI single from Burt in the second. The lead grew to 4-0 after three behind Washer’s two-run double and an error on Staten Island.

The Rockers blew up for four runs in the fifth with Washer driving in one with a bases loaded groundout and Burt’s three-run homer.

Ryan Meisinger earned the start and went 2.1 innings, allowing just three hits. Zach Muckenhirn (W, 3-0) with 2.2 innings of work with one hit allowed and one strikeout.

Staten Island’s only runs came off reliever Jacob Edwards, surrendering a three-run homer to Luis Castro in the sixth.

The Rockers will play the third and final game of the series with Staten Island on Sunday at 4:05 p.m.