HIGH POINT, N.C- Powered by the bottom of the batting order, the High Point Rockers erased a 5-2 deficit and downed the Lexington Legends 6-5 on Tuesday night at Truist Point.

Evan Edwards, Brian Parreira, Ryan Grotjohn and D.J. Burt combined to go six-for-14 with four runs scored and all five RBI in the win.

Lexington leadoff hitter Gabe Howell started the game with a home run to put the Legends up 1-0 early.

The Rockers responded in the second when Parreira reached on a fielder’s choice and Burt blasted his second homer of the year, putting High Point up 2-1.

Lexington reached High Point starter Taylor Guerrieri for four runs in the fourth, highlighted by a two-run homer by Pedro Gonzalez, a triple by Keenan O’Brien and a two-run single from Osmy Gregorio to grab a 5-2 advantage.

Ryan Grotjohn’s fourth home run of the season in the fourth inning cut the Rockers deficit to 5-3.

High Point closed the gap to 5-4 in the fifth inning after Zander Weil scored on a sac fly from Evan Edwards.

The Rockers were able to take advantage of a pair of errors by Lexington second baseman Matt Bottcher in the seventh to plate two runs and grab a 6-5 lead. Colin Moran reached on a ball that slid underneath Bottcher’s glove but was erased at second when Wiel grounded into a 5-4 fielder’s choice. A walk to Edwards put two men aboard with Parreira driving home Wiel with a single. A grounder by Grotjohn to second was misplayed by Bottcher, allowing Edwards to score the go-ahead run.

Austin Ross (W, 2-0) earned the win by retiring the final man of the seventh inning and pitching a 1-2-3 eighth. Jameson McGrane worked around a pair of hits in the ninth to earn his fifth save.

Lexington reliever Aldry Acosta (0-1) took the loss.

“We really fought for that one,” said Rockers manager Jamie Keefe.  “We had to grind it out until the end and I’m happy with the way we battled. Huge hit for Parreira, and the bullpen threw lights out again. It seems like every night we’re saying that but it’s true. They shoved again and they’re a massive part of what’s made us successful to this point in the year. Just a good solid win tonight.

The Rockers improved to 18-11 on the season while Lexington slipped to 7-22. High Point remains 2.5 games behind Gastonia (21-9) which defeated Long Island 9-4 on Tuesday night.

Game two of this three game series between High Point and Lexington will be Wednesday, May 28th at 6:35 p.m.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The High Point Rockers won their sixth consecutive game, overcoming an early 4-0 deficit and finally emerging with an 11-10 win over Lexington at Legends Field on Tuesday night.

The win allowed the Rockers to remain in a tie for first place in the Atlantic League’s South Division at 15-8. Gastonia defeated Lancaster 8-5 on Tuesday to keep pace with the Rockers.

In a game that included four lead changes, it was two runs in the top of the 10^th game that helped the Rockers break a 9-9 tie and down the Legends.

In the top of the tenth, Ben Aklinski’s ground out moved ghost runner Connor Owings to third with one out. Owings then scored on a wild pitch to put High Point ahead 10-9. After Colin Moran drew a walk, the Rockers pinch-ran Gavin Johns. A hard grounder to first by Evan Edwards was fielded by Keenan O’Brien but his throw to second sailed into left field, leaving the Rockers with runners at first and second.  Brian Parreira then singled to right, scoring Johns and giving High Point an 11-9 lead.

Jameson McGrane pitched the bottom of the 10^th for the Rockers and struck out the first two batters of the inning before allowing an RBI single to Mikey Reynolds that cut the Rockers lead to 11-10. But McGrane fanned Gabe Howell to end the game.

It was a rocky start for Rockers starter Ben Braymer. The lefty, who went 2-0 for High Point in 2023 before having his contract acquired by the Colorado Rockies, signed with High Point Tuesday afternoon and was on the mound just hours later. But the Legends greeted Braymer with four first inning runs to go up 4-0.

High Point began to chip away, cutting the deficit to 4-1 on a second inning homer from Zander Wiel. Owings then slammed a solo homer to make it a 4-2 game in the top of the fifth.

The Legends added a run in the bottom of the fifth on a walk and a Rockers error to increase the lead to 5-2.

High Point pulled to within a run at 5-4 with two runs in the top of the sixth. Evan Edwards singled and moved to third on a ground rule double by Wiel. Parreira grounded out to second, scoring Edwards and moving Wiel to third. Clayton Mehlbauer and Ryan Grotjohn each received a walk from Lexington reliever Elio Serrano. Martin Figueroa brought home Wiel with a fielder’s choice.

The Rockers tied the game and then took a 7-6 lead with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh. Moran walked and Evan Edwards singled. Zander Wiel’s bloop single to center plated Moran with the tying run and Parreira’s sac fly to deep left brought home Edwards with the go-ahead run.

The Legends regained the lead with three runs in the seventh inning to go on top 8-6.

High Point answered back with three runs in the top of the eighth for a 9-8 lead. Grotjohn led off the inning with a solo homer to make it 8-7. With two outs, Aklinski drew a walk from Alex MacKinnon and Moran blasted a two-run homer to edge the Rockers in front 9-8.

Lexington tied the game at 9-9 when Aldenis Sanchez stole home in the bottom of the eighth.

Lexington had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the ninth off Rocker reliever Zack Muckenhirn.  Pedro Gonzalez led off the frame with a double. But the lefty retired the next three batters in order, two by strikeout, to send the game to extra innings.

Muckenhirn earned the win for the Rockers improving to 2-0.

The second game of the three-game series is set for a morning start on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for a 10:15 a.m. first pitch.

NOTES: Nick Longhi came off the injured list on Tuesday after having missed 10 days due to an upper body injury. In his first at-bat, Longhi grounded to short and the throw to first drew first baseman Keenan O’Brien off the bag. As Longhi tried to avoid the tag, he went down with an apparent lower body injury and was removed from the game. . . High Point’s six-game winning steak is its longest of the season. It is also the longest active winning streak in the ALPB.

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.