HIGH POINT N,C – The High Point Rockers moved into first place in the South Division of the Atlantic League with a Sunday afternoon doubleheader sweep of the Charleston Dirty Birds at Truist Point. The Rockers won the opener 6-2 before Zander Wiel gave High Point a 3-2 win in the nightcap with a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh.

Sunday’s opening game victory also marked the 300^th win for Rockers’ manager Jamie Keefe.

High Point began the day in third place in the South Division, trailing Charleston and Gastonia. With the Gastonia Baseball club splitting a twinbill with Lexington and the Rockers’ sweep of Charleston, High Point moved into a tie for first with Gastonia at 14-8 while Charleston fell to third at 13-9.

Wiel’s walk-off single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh capped an outstanding pitching performance from the High Point staff. Starter Jonah Scolaro allowed a run on two hits in the first inning before setting down 13 consecutive Dirty Bird hitters. Austin Ross tossed a 1-2-3 inning in the sixth as the Rockers’ staff combined to retire 18 consecutive Charleston hitters.

Trailing 1-0 after Delino Deshields led off the game with a double and scored on a single by Jared Carr, High Point scored a pair in the second on a two-run double by Brian Parrieria.

And that’s how the game remained until the seventh when Ryan Meisinger came on to close the game. But former MLB player Clint Frazier smacked a solo homer to left that tied the game at 2-2 and brought the Rockers to the plate in the bottom of the seventh.

Charleston reliever Joan Martinez walked Martin Figueroa before Connor Owings doubled to put runners at second a third. Ben Aklinski received an intentional pass to load the bases and Wiel’s soft liner to center just escaped the grasp of Carr.

Meisinger (W, 1-0) earned the victory while Martinez (L, 0-2) took the loss.

The Rockers dominated the first game 6-2 over Charleston with two runs coming home on wild pitches, a pair of home runs by Ryan Grotjohn and Clayton Mehlbauer and 10 strikeouts from starting pitcher Ryan Weiss (W, 2-2).

The Rockers took an early lead after Figueroa scored on a wild pitch to go up 1-0. Charleston forced a tie on a sac fly from Rusber Estrada in the second.

Grotjohn smacked his first home run of the season for High Point to reclaim the lead in the bottom of the second inning. A sac fly from Owings plated Mehlbauer to increase the lead 3-1.

Evan Edwards scored on a wild pitch from Charleston starter Jalen Miller in the third for a 4-1 lead.

The Rockers strengthened their edge in the fourth after a homer from Mehlbauer upped the lead to 5-1.

A Grotjohn triple and a sac fly from Mehlbauer accounted for the 6-2 final.

Charleston’s Jalen Miller (L, 2-2) went three innings in the opener, allowing four runs on five hits.

NOTES: The first game win was No. 300 for Jamie Keefe fifth year as Rockers manager . . . For his career, Keefe is now in his 22^nd season with a 1073-918 mark . . . The Rockers have won five straight games, matching their season-long winning streak set when they opened the season 5-0.

HIGH POINT, N.C – Martin Figueroa singled home Ryan Grotjohn in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the High Point Rockers a 4-3 walk-off win over the Charleston Dirty Birds on Friday night at Truist Point.

Figueroa’s single culminated a game-long effort in which the Rockers continually fought from behind all night before finally knotting the game in the eighth inning.

Charleston opened up with an off the wall triple from Gabriel Cancel in the first before being singled home by Courtney Hawkins for a 1-0 lead.

Hawkins, signed by the Dirty Birds earlier in the day, smacked a homer to right field and gave Charleston a 2-0 lead in the third inning.

Charleston starting pitcher Gabriel Rodriguez held the Rockers hitless until the fifth when Grotjohn singled, moving Clayton Mehlbauer to third after he had drawn a walk. Gavin Johns followed with an RBI single for the Rockers first run.

Jared Carr homered for Charleston in the sixth to put the ‘Birds up 3-1.

High Point closed the gap to 3-2 in the seventh when Brian Parreira reached on a fielder’s choice, went to third on a single by Grotjohn, and scored on Johns’ second RBI single of the night.

The Rockers loaded the bases in the eighth on a walk to Connor Owings, a hit by pitch to Ben Aklinski and another walk to Colin Moran. Parreira’s sac fly plated Aklinski to tie the game at 3-3.

That set the stage for the Rockers’ game-winning rally in the ninth. Facing Charleston reliever Joan Martinez, Grotjohn drew a lead-off walk and Johns smacked his third hit of the night, putting runners on the corners. Figueroa then hit a hot smash that bounced past Charleston first baseman Dariel Gomez and into right, allowing Grotjohn to score the winning run.

Austin Ross (W, 1-0) earned the win by striking out a pair of ‘Birds in the top of the ninth and working around a pair of infield singles.

The win moved the Rockers to within one game of first place in the Atlantic League’s South Division. High Point is now 12-8 on the year while the loss puts Charleston at 13-7. Gastonia, which was rained out on Friday, is also in the hunt at 12-7 on the season.

The second game of the series will take place on Saturday at 6:35 p.m. at Truist Point. It will be Veteran’s Appreciation Night with every Military veteran receiving four tickets for themselves and their family with military ID.

HIGH POINT, N.C – The High Point Rockers scored three times in the fourth inning to overcome a 5-3 deficit and went on to defeat the Lexington Legends 7-5 on Thursday night at Truist Point. The win gives the Rockers a 2-1 series win over the Legends.

In the fourth inning, shortstop Clayton Mehlbauer led off the frame with a double to right-center and scored on a single by Martin Figueroa. After stealing second, Figueroa was driven home by Connor Owings who then moved to third on a single by Ben Aklinski. Colin Moran brought home Owings with the go-ahead run on a fielders choice.

Lexington had taken an early lead 2-0 in the first inning after High Point starter Neil Uskali walked three consecutive batters to start the game. The Rockers put up their first run in the bottom of the first as Moran plated Figueroa on a sacrifice fly to make it a 2-1 game.

Payton Robertson staked the Legends to a 3-1 advantage as he smacked a double in the second inning and scored on a single by Mikey Reynolds. High Point tied the game with a pair of runs in the second as Evan Edwards scored on a single by Gavin Johns followed by a run-scoring single from Figueroa.

A pair of errors by High Point in the fourth inning gave Lexington a 5-3 lead.

In the fifth, the Rockers scored three times to take a 6-5 lead before Aklinski’s solo homer in the seventh put High Point up 7-5 to account for the final score.

The Rockers will start a three game weekend series against the Charleston Dirty Birds on Friday with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Truist Point.

by Katelynn Hunter

HIGH POINT, N.C – The Lexington Legends over powered the High Point Rockers with a pair of home runs in downing the Rockers 3-1 on Tuesday night at Truist Point. The game was delayed 45 minutes at the start due to rain.

High Point took an early lead 1-0 when Evan Edwards hit his first home run of the year in the second inning. The Rockers continued to hold the lead into the fifth inning as High Point starter Ryan Weiss allowed just four hits and struck out seven through the first four innings.

Lexington took the lead, 2-1 in the fifth when Matt Bottcher singled and scored on a homer by Pedro Gonzalez.

Weiss left the game after 5.1 innings of work, allowing six hits and striking out eight with two walks. David McKay allowed a solo homer to DH Kole Cottam in the seventh as the Legends took a 3-1 lead.

 

Lexington starter Nic Laio (W, 2-1) allowed just one run and three hits while striking out nine and not issuing a walk during his seven innings of work. Elio Serrano came on in the eighth and finished with three strikeouts and his first save of the season.

 

Game two of the series is set for an 11:05 a.m. start on Wednesday at Truist Point.

 

 

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point Rockers pounded out 14 hits in posting a 9-2 win over Southern Maryland in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Truist Point. The Rockers won the series by a 2-1 count.

Former North Carolina All-American Colin Moran had his best day as a Rocker since joining the club earlier in the week. Moran had four hits, two doubles and scored a pair of runs while driving in one to lead High Point’s offensive charge.

Southern Maryland took an early 1-0 lead when lead-off hitter Anthony Ray started the game with a home run off High Point starter Jonah Scolaro. The lead grew to 2-0 in the fourth when Josh Broughton hit a two-out double and scored on a double by Aaron Hill.

But High Point scored the next nine runs in the game, starting with a three-run outburst in the fourth. After Ben Aklinski drew a walk and moved to third on a double by Moran, Zander Wiel plated one run with a sac fly and Ryan Grotjohn doubled home the second run before scoring on an RBI single by Wesleyan Christian Academy Gregory White.

The Rockers added four runs in the fifth to take a 7-2 lead on a three-run homer by Aklinski and an RBI single from Grotjohn. Moran doubled home Aklinski with the eighth run in the sixth and Connor Owings singled to score Grotjohn in the eighth to complete the scoring.

Scolaro went 4.1 innings and allowed four hits and three walks while striking out three. Neil Ramirez (W, 1-0) came on in the fifth and faced seven batters, issuing a walk and striking out five to earn the win. Austin Ross, David McKay and Garrett Schilling each threw scoreless innings to finish up for the Rockers.

Southern Maryland starter Ian Kahaloa (L, 1-2), allowed seven runs on seven hits in his 4.1 innings of work while walking four and striking out five.

The Rockers will have Monday off and then start the string of six straight home games. High Point hosts the Lexington Legends for three games starting on Tuesday. Wednesday’s game will be a special 11:05 am start for Education Day at Truist Point.

NOTES: Scolaro was signed by the Rockers on Sunday to fill the slot in the starting rotation previously held by Peter Solomon whose contract was purchased by the Texas Rangers on Thursday… Scolaro was with the Rockers briefly in 2022 before his contract was purchased by the Chicago White Sox.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point Rockers dropped a second straight game to Southern Maryland, falling 5-3 on Friday night at Truist Point in front of a season-high 2,650 fans. Game two of the series is slated for a 6:35 p.m. start on Saturday night.

Southern Maryland took two of three games earlier in the week from the Rockers in Waldorf, Md.

High Point went on top first as Martin Figueroa led off the bottom of the first with a double. After moving to third on a Ben Aklinski fly out to left, Figueroa scored on an RBI single from Connor Owings.

In the fourth, the Blue Crabs tied the game on a Juan Kelly double and a Josh Broughto RBI single. Southern Maryland then took the lead for good in the fifth when Michael Wielansky slammed a solo homer for a 2-1 advantage.

The Blue Crabs added two ore runs in the top of the sixth for a 4-1 lead. Kelly hit a solo homer before Aaron Hill doubled and stole third, scoring on a single by Broughton.

The Rockers battled back in their half of the fifth when Figueroa walked and scored on Aklinski’s home run to left to make it 4-3.

But Southern Maryland added an insurance run in the eighth on a single by Broughton and an RBI double off the bat of Alan Alonso to account for the 5-3 final.

Jeremy Rhoades (L, 1-2) allowed six hits and four runs in his 5.1 innings of work while fanning seven. Blue Crab starter Garrett Martin (W, 2-0) also went 5.1 innings, yielding five hits and three runs. Endrys Briceno put the Rockers down in order in the ninth to earn his fourth save of the year.

Figueroa was the lone Rocker to collect two hits. Broughton led the Blue Crabs with three hits and two RBI.

NOTES: The Rockers added LHP Braeden Ogle to the roster on Friday afternoon… He will take the spot of Peter Solomon whose contract was purchased by the Texas Rangers… The Rockers also added former North Carolina A&T and Wesleyan Christian Academy outfielder Greg White to the roster on Friday.