HIGH POINT, N.C. – Lancaster unleashed 13 hits including seven doubles as the Barnstormers defeated High Point 9-3 on Wednesday night at Truist Point in the opening game of a three-game series.

The loss leaves the Rockers at 9-6 in the second half of the Atlantic League season and 50-28 overall. The Rockers trail Gastonia by a half game in the South Division in the second half race.

Lancaster used a trio of first inning doubles to take an early 2-0 lead. Melvin Mercedes led off the game with a double and scored on a double by Andretty Cordero. Chad Sedio’s double then plated Sandoval for a 2-0 Lancaster lead.

The Rockers took a 3-2 lead with a three-run flurry in the third. Michael Russell singled and scored on a triple by Shed Long, Jr. After D.J. Burt was hit by a pitch, Ben Aklinski drove home Long, Jr. with a double and Beau Taylor delivered a sacrifice fly to plate Burt.

Lancaster rallied with two outs in the fourth off High Point starter Jheyson Manzueta (L, 3-1), collecting five consecutive base hits. After Trace Loehr singled, he scored on an RBI double by Mercedes who came around to score on a double by Yeison Coca. Cordero followed with a run-scoring single to put Lancaster ahead 5-3.

The Barnstormers added a pair of runs in the sixth on an RBI double from Jack Conleyu and a run-scoring single by Coca. Lancaster added two unearned runs in the ninth on an RBI double by Cordro and a ground out by Wilson Garcia.

Aklinski led the Rockers with three hits while Daikan Yoh added a pair of singles. Cordero finished the night with three hits, three RBI and a pair of doubles.

High Point and Lancaster will play game two of their three-game series on Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. at Truist Point. The game will be streamed live on FLO Baseball and also available on the Mixlr app.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – High Point’s Mickey Jannis bparreecame the first nine-game winner in the Atlantic League this season and the Rockers reached the 50 win milestone faster than any other club in franchise history with a 10-3 win over Long Island on Sunday afternoon at Truist Point. The Rockers took the series two games to one and in the process became the first ALPB team with 50 wins this season.

Jannis, a knuckleballer, went six innings and struck out six while scattering six hits. He improved to 9-3 on the season as the High Point offense supported him with 14 hits and took advantage of three Long Island errors.

The Rockers reached their 50^th win faster than any other team in club history. At 50-27, the Rockers needed just 77 games to reach the half century mark. The next fastest club was the 2021 team that needed 90 games (50-40) to get to the record. In addition, the Rockers moved back into first place in the Atlantic League’s South Division at 9-5, a half-game in front of Gastonia at 8-5.

High Point scored twice in the first inning off Long Island starter Robert Stock (L, 5-2) who was coming off a no-hitter in his last outing. Shed Long, Jr. led off with a double followed by a walk to D.J. Burt. After Long took third on a wild pitch, Long Island catcher Joe DeCarlo threw to second to try and catch a stealing Burt but the throw sailed past second and into the outfield, allowing Long, Jr. to score and moving Burt to third. Ben Aklinski’s ground out to second brought home the Rockers’ second run of the inning.

The Rockers added a single run in the second on an infield hit by Michael Martinez and an RBI single from Burt. Long Island cut the deficit to 3-1 with a run in the top of the third on a triple by former Rocker Trent Taylor and an RBI single from Boog Powell.

High Point extended its advantage to 6-1 in the third inning when Ryan Grotjohn singled home Beau Taylor and Michael Russell delivered a two-run single.

Long Island scored twice in the fourth on a walk to Alex Dickerson, a single by Brian Goodwin and a two-run double from Trent Taylor. But that would be all the runs the Ducks could muster.

Stock departed after five innings, having allowed 13 hits and all 10 runs while walking two and striking out three.

High Point added a run in the fourth when Burt reached on an error and scored on a double by Daikan Yoh. The Rockers went out in front 10-3 with three runs in the fifth. Brian Parreira hit an RBI double, Burt brought home a run with an infield ground out and Aklinski knocked in a run with a triple.

“It’s great to win the series from Long Island and last night’s win was important but today we came out and really swung the bats and Mickey did a nice job,” said Rockers manager Jamie Keefe. “The bullpen was awesome and anytime you play at home and have a chance to take a series from Long Island, that’s awesome.”

 

High Point’s Neil Ramirez, who came off the injured list this weekend after not having pitched since May 12, retired all six batters in the seventh and eighth innings, logging a pair of strikeouts. Cam Bedrosian fanned all three hitters he faced in the ninth to seal the win.

 

“We’ve got a really hot ball club coming in here in Lancaster so it will be good to get (Monday) off and then get ready for that series,” said Keefe.

 

Long, Jr. led the Rockers with four hits while Burt finished with three runs scored. Burt, Aklinski and Russell each finished with a pair of RBI. Long Island was led by Taylor and Powell who each had a pair of hits.

 

The Rockers will have an off-day on Monday before resuming their homestand on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. against the Lancaster Barnstormers. The game will be streamed live on FLO Baseball and will also be available on the Mixlr app.

HIGH POINT, N.C. –High Point’s Justin Nicolino allowed just three hits over seven innings as the Rockers shutout out the Long Island Ducks 6-0 on Saturday night in front of a crowd of 2,374 at Truist Point.

Nicolino (W, 3-0) allowed a one out double to Brantley Bell in the first inning followed by a walk to Alejandro De Aza but left both runners stranded. Nicolino then set down the next 16 batters until Bell beat out an infield single with two outs in the sixth. After Bell stole second, De Aza laced a sharp single to right. Ben Aklinski picked the ball up and fired a strike to the plate where catcher Brian Parreira tagged the sliding Bell for the third out of the inning. It marked Aklinski’s seventh outfield assist of the season.

“Nicolino pitched beautifully,” said Rockers manager Jamie Keefe. “That’s one heckuva a lineup over there, they’ve got a lot of hitters with big league time. He controlled the zone from the first hitter and throughout his seven innings. He was loving it and having fun and he is really fun to play behind because he’s throwing strikes and getting ahead of hitters. Our defense was really outstanding tonight.”

Nicolino went seven innings and allowed three hits while walking one and striking out six. Jameson McGrane retired the Ducks in order in the eighth and Ryan Dull tossed a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

Long Island starter Joe Iorio (L, 3-6) retired Shed Long, Jr. on strikes to start the first but then gave up a single to D.J. Burt. Daikan Yoh grounded to Long Island third baseman Joe DeCarlo who mishandled the ball leaving runners at first and second. Aklinski then unloaded his 12^th homer of the year to give the Rockers a 3-0 lead.

In the eighth, the Rockers tallied three more runs. A single by D.J. Burt and a walk to Yoh set the stage for a two-run double from Ryan Grotjohn. Parreira then brought Grotjohn around to score on a single for a 6-0 advantage.

Game three of the series is slated for a 4:05 p.m. first pitch on Sunday at Truist Point. The Rockers will celebrate the birthday of their mascot, HYPE. The game will be streamed live on Flo Baseball and also available on the Mixlr app.

NOTES: The Rockers’ shutout was their first since beating Charleston 16-0 on May 2… It was the first time the Ducks have been shutout since suffering a 4-0 defeat at Staten Island on May 14…Sunday’s starters will feature knuckleballer Mickey Jannis (8-3, 3.21 ERA) against Robert Stock (5-1, 4.08). In his last outing, Stock no-hit Southern Maryland 4-0 on July 18. It was just the sixth no-hitter in Atlantic League history. Both Jannis and Stock have previously pitched at the Major League level.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Long Island’s Kyle Lobstein allowed the High Point Rockers just four hits and struck nine over eight innings of work as the Ducks took the series opener from the Rockers 8-2 on Friday night in front of a crowd of 2,672 at Truist Point.

The Rockers did not advance a runner to second base until the ninth inning when Lobstein had departed for reliever Kevin Quackenbush. Trailing 8-0, the Rockers scored twice in the ninth, on an RBI single from Daikan Yoh and another from Ben Aklinski.

“Lobstein was outstanding,” said Rockers manager Jamie Keefe. “He kept the ball down in the zone all day and he was ahead of everybody in the count. To be honest, that’s the best start we’ve run into in the last month, month and a half. We ran into a buzzsaw tonight but it was good to see us get a couple of runs late and get the bats ready for tomorrow.”

Scoreless through the first three innings, the Ducks took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth when rightfielder Alex Dickerson drew a lead-off walk from High Point starter Ryan Weiss. Brian Goodwin then belted a two-run homer to right to give Long Island a 2-0 lead.

Long Island’s lead grew to 4-0 after five innings when Dickerson slapped a two-run double. Three more runs in the sixth, including RBI singles from Jonathan Guzman and Boog Powell, put the Ducks on top 7-0.

In the eighth, Guzman doubled, moved to third, and scored on a groundout by Powell to complete the Ducks scoring.

The Rockers are now 7-5 in the second half of the Atlantic League season and 48-27 overall on the season.

Game two of the series is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Truist Point on Saturday. The Rockers will send lefty Justin Nicolino (2-0, 4.50 ERA) to the mound to face the Ducks’ Joe Iorio (3-5, 6.97). The gae will be streamed live on FLO Baseball and also available on the Mixlr app.

GASTONIA, N.C. – The High Point Rockers’ offense slept through most of the first innings in dropping a 10-5 decision to Gastonia at CaroMont Health Park on Thursday night.

The Rockers managed just three hits through the first six innings and fell behind Gastonia 10-1 before rallying for four runs in the eighth. But in the end, it was Gastonia that earned the win and moved one-half game in front of High Point in the Atlantic League’s South Division second half race. The Honey Hunters are now 7-3 in the second half while the Rockers are 7-4.

Beau Taylor, Ben Aklinski and Brian Parreira each had a pair of hits for the Rockers with Aklinski driving in a pair of runs.

Gastonia was able to touch High Point starter Mitch Atkins (L, 0-1) for seven hits and six runs as he made his second start of the season after a long rehab period following an arm injury. Atkins did not issue a walk and struck out four while hitting one batter.

The Honey Hunters scored once in the second on a Luis Curbelo sac fly. But it was the five-run third inning that put the Rockers behind 6-0. Kevin Santa drilled an RBI single and Scott Manea contributed a two-run single before David Washington slammed a two-run homer.

The Rockers were able to score on a Parreira sac fly in the fourth and the score remained 6-1 until the seventh. Gastonia added four more runs off reliever Joe Johnson, using a two-run single by Pedro Gonzalez, and RBI singles from Washington and Curbelo.

The Rockers bats woke up in the top of the eighth. Aklinski drove home a pair of runs on a single and Daikan Yoh added an RBI single. Michael Martinez grounded out to force in a run and cut Gastonia’s lead to 10-5.

High Point will open a six-game homestand on Friday, July 21 when the Rockers entertain the Long Island Ducks. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. and it will be Agriculture Night at Truist Point with postgame fireworks.

GASTONIA, N.C. – The High Point Rockers overcame an early 2-1 deficit and withstood a bases-loaded situation in the ninth to defeat Gastonia 9-5 on Wednesday night at CaroMont Health Park.

The Rockers are 48-25 overall on the season and 7-3 in the second half. High Point holds a half-game lead over 6-3 Gastonia in the race for the second half pennant in the South Division.

Trailing 2-1 after four innings, the Rockers scored four times in the fifth to take a 5-2 lead. Gastonia starter Gunnar Kines (L, 8-3) had retired eight straight Rockers when Ryan Grotjohn led off the fifth with a walk. Ben Aklinski singled into the left field corner, allowing Grotjohn to move to third but Aklinski was cut down trying to stretch the single into a double. Brian Parreira then flew out to right field, allowing Grotjohn to score on the sac fly and tie the game at 2-2. With two outs, D.J. Burt and Michael Russell each reached on soft singles to left field, bringing Shed Long, Jr. to the plate. Long, Jr. bounced a ground ball to third where Gastonia’s Pedro Gonzalez fielded the ball cleanly but threw it wide of first, allowing both Burt and Russell to score to put High Point ahead 4-2. After Daikan Yoh was hit by a pitch, Quincy Latimore doubled into the left field corner, scoring Long, Jr for a 5-2 Rocker lead.

Gastonia’s Zach Jarrett hit a solo homer off Rocker starter Jheyson Manzueta (W, 3-0) in the bottom of the fifth to make it a 5-3 game. The Rockers answered back in the top of the eighth with Parreira lining his sixth homer of the year over the fence in right field to extend the Rockers’ advantage to 6-3.

Gastonia tallied a pair of runs against reliever Jameson McGrane in the eighth. Braxton Davidson reached on a fielder’s choice and stole second. A walk to Scott Manea put two runners aboard in front of an RBI single by Eric De La Rosa that scored Davidson. David Washington then singled to plate Manea and make it a 6-5 game going to the ninth.

With one out in the ninth, Latimore reached on an infield single to short, his third hit of the game. John Daly was the designated pinch-runner and he scored easily from first when Taylor sent a double to left-center, raising High Point’s lead to 7-5. Aklinski then popped his 11^th homer of the year to left-center, scoring Taylor ahead of him, to give the Rockers a 9-5 advantage.

Gastonia loaded the bases against High Point’s Ryan Dull in the bottom of the ninth on a pair of infield errors and a walk but Dull was able to retire the side on a strikeout and a pair of flyballs to the outfield.

Johnni Turbo homered in the bottom of the first inning, his second of the year, to give the Honey Hunters a 1-0 lead. The Rockers tied it in the second when Latimore singled and took third on a single by Taylor. Grotjohn’s sac fly to left was deep enough to give Latimore time to tag and score.

In the fourth, Gastonia took a 2-1 lead when Eric De La Rosa walked, took second on a balk by High Point starter Jheyson Manzueta, then scored on a double to left by Luis Curbelo.

Latimore finished the night with three hits, including a double and an RBI. Russell, Taylor, Aklinski, Parreira and Burt each had a pair of hits as part of High Point’s 13-hit attack. Jarrett had three of Gastonia’s seven hits on the night.

Game three of the series is scheduled for Thursday at 6:35 p.m. at CaroMont Health Park. The game will be streamed live on FLO Baseball and is also available on the Mixlr app.