LEXINGTON, Ky. – Nick Longhi blasted a two-run homer in the seventh inning to lead the High Point Rockers to a 5-2 win over the Lexington Legends on Friday afternoon at Legends Field. The Rockers are now 2-0 to start the season.

Longhi’s homer, his first as a Rocker, broke a 2-2 tie and came as part of a three-run seventh inning outburst.

Rockers’ reliever Taylor Guerrieri (W, 1-0) earned the victory with three innings of hitless relief. Guerrieri fanned five of the nine men he faced and did not allow a base runner. Lexington reliever Clinton Hollon (L, 0-1) was credited with the loss after allowing three runs in his lone inning of work. Lexington starter Aaron Perry struck out 12 hitters in six innings while High Point starter Kyle Barraclough went four innings, allowing five hits and striking out six. Austin Ross worked around a single in the ninth to earn the save for High Point.

Brian Parreira staked the Rockers to a 1-0 lead in the top of the third when he hit his first home run of the year. Luis Acevedo, making his first start as a Rocker, reached first on a dropped third strike and promptly stole second base. He advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on Ben Aklinski’s bloop single to right.

Lexington tied the game in the bottom of the fourth when Ryan January homered off Barraclough with Tristian Pompey aboard to tie the game at 2-2.

The Rockers put the game away with three runs in the top of the seventh. Ryan Grotjohn led off the inning with a walk, then Longhi hit a two-run homer to left center to make it a 4-2 game. Parreira then doubled into the rightfield corner and took third on an infield error by Lexington third baseman Jesus Tavarez. Acevedo then drew a walk before D.J. Burt hit a sac fly to center to score Parreira and give the Rockers a 5-2 lead.

The Rockers pitching staff retired 16 straight the fourth and ninth innings.

Game three of the four game series is set for a 7 o’clock start on Saturday at Legends Field.

NOTES: The Rockers are off to a 2-0 start for the second consecutive year… No previous Rockers team has won its first three games of the season… Ben Aklinski leads the Rockers with a .500 average after going 4-for-8 in the first two games . . . He is also the team leader with four RBI . . . Nick Longhit (4-for-9) is hitting .444 . . . Rockers pitchers have recorded 26 strikeouts in the first 18 innings while yielding just 15 hits and five walks.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – D.J. Burt scored the winning run on a passed ball in the top of the 10^th inning to help the Rockers to a 7-6 win over the Lexington Legends Tuesday night at Legends Field on Opening Night in the Atlantic League.

Burt’s run wiped out memories of a club-tying six-run blown lead that nearly came back to haunt the Rockers.

High Point built a 6-0 lead through the first 5 and one-half innings behind a two-run homer from Ben Aklinski and a solo shot from Connor Owings. Trailing 6-0 in the bottom of the fifth, the Legends ralled with a ingle run in the fifth, two runs in the eighth and three in the ninth including a game-tying two-run homer from Jesus Tavarez.

With Burt as the ghost runner on second to start the 10^th, Martin Figueroa lined a shot off reliever, Logan Campbell, who recovered and retired Figueroa at first while Burt moved to third. The Legends opted to intentionally walk Owings and face Zander Wiel with runners on the corners. Campbell walked Wiel to load the bases before a wild pitch to Evan Edwards went to the backstop and allowed Burt to score the go-ahead run.

Ryan Meisinger took the mound for the Rockers in the 10^th and struck out the side to earn the save.

The Rockers broke the ice in the top of the second when Nick Longhi singled, moved to second on a walk to Brian Parreira and scored on a single to right by Burt.

The Rockers extended the lead to 3-0 in the fourth when Figueroa legged out an infield hit to second before Aklinski hit the first offering from Lexington starter Dustin Beggs out to left field for his first homer of the year. Owings then made it 4-0, following Aklinski’s blast with one of his own.

High Point starter Peter Solomon kept the Legends hitless until Kingston Liniak doubled with two outs in the fourth. Solomon struck out the side in the first and fourth innings and finished with seven Ks. Over his four innings, Solomon allowed just one hit and one walk while fanning seven of the 13 batters he faced.

The Rockers added a pair of runs in the top of the fifth. Longhi reached on a fielder’s choice before Ryan Grotjohn drew a two out walk off reliever Jeff Johnson. A wild pitch put runners on second and third and was followed by a walk to Burt. Figueroa then drew an RBI walk ahead of Aklinski who singled to score Grotjohn but Burt was thrown out at the plate trying to score.

Matt Solter came on in the fifth for High Point and allowed a single to Tristian Pompey and a double to Brady Whalen. Keenan O’Brien grounded out to Burt at second as Pompey crossed the play for Lexington’s first run of the game, making it a 6-1 contest before Solter was able to escape any further damage.

Solter allowed a single to Payton Robertson to lead off the sixth but then retired three in a row. The Legends went down in order in the seventh but put runners on second and third with one out in the eighth. Rockers manager Jamie Keefe went with lefty Zach Muckenhirn in relief of Solter. Matt Botcher singled to score Tavarez. In clearly the strangest play of the night, the Legends scored when Liniak singed to left, plating one run. But the Rockers caught Liniak trying to stretch the hit into a double and then were able tag out Bottcher off third for an inning-ending double play.

Muckenhirn walked Ryan January to start the ninth before Pompey doubled to put runners on second and third. The Rockers turned to Jameson McGrane who retired Whalen on a foul out to third for the first out. O’Brien made it a 6-4 game with a sac fly to right but Tavarez tied the game with a two-run homer that sent the game into extra innings tied at 6-6.

Aklinski finished with three hits and three RBI while Owings added a pair of hits. Longhi, in his first game as a Rocker, had three hits and two runs scored.

The Rockers and Legends will take the field at 10:15 a.m. on Friday for game two of the four-game season-opening series.

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HIGH POINT, N.C. – The Rockers’ Kevin Saenz, Jr. was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning, forcing home Connor Owings with the winning run as the High Point Rockers defeated the Gastonia Baseball Club 2-1 on Saturday night at Truist Point.

In a game dominated by outstanding pitching on both sides, the contest was scoreless until the eighth inning when Gastonia tallied first. Kevin Watson drew a walk, moved to second on a deep fly ball by Pedro Gonzalez and then scored on consecutive wild pitches the Rockers Jake Kuchmaner.

High Point tied the game in the bottom of the eighth on a solo homer by Southern Guilford High grad Evan Edwards.

Tied at 1-1 in the ninth, the Rockers’ Nick Longhi started the rally with one out when he was hit by a pitch from Gastonia reliever Zach Vennaro. Walks to Owings and Aklinski loaded the bases. Edwards grounded a ball back to the mound and Vennaro threw to the page to retire Longhi for the second out. Saenz was then hit by a pitch from Vennaro that brought Owings home with the winning run.

Kuchmaner earned the win, pitching three innings and did not allow a hit in earning the win. Vennaro was credited with the loss for Gastonia. The Rockers staff only allowed two hits all night while the High Point offense was held to five hits on the night.

The Rockers will play an exhibition game at Gastonia on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. High Point opens the Atlantic League season on Thursday at Lexington. The home opener at Truist Point is set for Thursday, April 30 against the Charleston Dirty Birds.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Staten Island hit four home runs including two from Luis Castro and tripped the High Point Rockers 13-3 on Thursday night in front of a crowd of 2,622 at Truist Point.

The High Point Rockers pitchers struck out the side in the first inning and also in the ninth inning. But in between, the Ferry Hawks put up 13 runs on 14 hits and handed High Point its second consecutive double figure loss coming on the heels of Wednesday’s 14-4 Ferry Hawk win.

High Point starter Neil Ramirez struck out the side in the top of the first but ran into trouble in the second. After a lead-off walk to Chris Brito, Luis Castro blasted a homer to left to give Staten Island a 2-0 lead. After Roldani Baldwin singled, Ramirez hit Bobby Sparling with a pitch to put two aboard. Noah Fisher singled to bring home Baldwin just before Angel Aguilar hit a three-run homer for a 5-0 Staten Island advantage.

Ramirez allowed an RBI single to Sparling in the third as the ‘Hawks built a 7-0 lead. Jeremy Rhoades relieved Ramirez in the fourth and gave up five more runs on five hits, the big shots being a two-run homer from Yoshi Tsutsuo and another two-shot from Castro.

High Point got on the board in the sixth when Ben Aklinski started the inning with a double and scored on a single by Ryan Grotjohn. But High Point left the bases loaded after just the one run.

The Ferry Hawks completed their scoring with a single run in the seventh off Cam Bedrosian when Brito singled home Mike Wilson who had walked to start the inning.

High Point tallied twice more in the eighth when Daikan Yoh was hit by a pitch and Brian Parreira drew a walk from reliever Anthony Quattrocchi. Beau Taylor brought home Yoh with a double and Michael Martinez delivered a sac fly to plate Parreira.

And High Point’s Ryan Dull finished off the game by striking out the side in the ninth.

Parreira was the only Rocker to collect two hits. Staten Island was led by Aguilar who had three hits and three RBI and Castro who drove in four runs with his two homers.

The Rockers are now 57-33 and 16-11 in the second half of the Atlantic League season. They are tied for first in the South Division with Gastonia as they share identical records for both the second half and overall.

The Rockers will start a six-game road trip on Friday with a three-day visit to Charleston, W.Va. Friday’s game will start at 6:35 p.m. from GoMart Park. The game will be live streamed on FLO Baseball and also available on the Mixlr app.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The Staten Island Ferry Hawks scored eight runs in the first two innings and went on to post a 14-4 win over the High Point Rockers on Wednesday night at Truist Point.

The Rockers spotted the Ferry Hawks four runs in the top of the first. Staten Island lead-off hitter Ricardo Cespedes reached on an infield single off High Point starter Mitch Atkins (L, 1-2). After stealing second, Cespedes scored on an Angel Aguilar homer to left for a 2-0 lead. After Atkins fanned Yoshi Tsutsugo for the first out, Chris Brito singled and scored on a double by Luis Castro for the third run of the inning. Castro would score on a wild pitch to complete the 4-0 start.

The Rockers answered back with three runs of their own in the bottom of the first. Ferry Hawks starter Ofelky Peralta (W, 1-4) walked D.J. Burt and Ben Aklinski. After retiring Shed Long, Jr. and Quincy Latimore, Peralta loaded the bases with a walk to Beau Taylor. Zander Wiel then blasted a line drive off the wall in left, scoring all three runners and pulling the Rockers to within 4-3.

Staten Island added four more runs in the second off High Point reliever Joe Johnson. A lead-off double by Noah Fisher was followed by an RBI triple from Aguilar.  After Johnson hit Brito with a pitch to put two aboard, Castro blasted a three-run homer as Staten Island went up 8-3.

High Point’s Bryce Hensley came on and put the Ferry Hawks down in order in the third but allowed two more runs in the fourth and three in the fifth when Roldani Baldwin hit a solo homer and Noah Fisher added a two-run shot. The Ferry Hawks led 13-3 after five innings and added one more run in the seventh on a Baldwin double and an RBI single ground out by Noah Fisher.

High Point’s final run came in the bottom of the ninth when Ryan Grotjohn was hit by a pitch and scored on a pinch-double by Daikan Yoh.

Shed Long, Jr. led the Rockers with three hits while Zander Wiel had a pair of safeties. Staten Island’s Aguilar came up a double shy of hitting for the cycle, collecting a homer, triple and single while Castro had a homer and a double. Each had four RBI in the game.

The Rockers are now 57-32 overall and 16-10 in the second half of the Atlantic League season. High Point holds a one-game lead over Gastonia for first place in the second half.

The third and final game of the series is slated for a 6:35 p.m. start on Thursday at Truist Point. The game will be streamed live on FLO Baseball and also available on the Mixlr app.

NOTES: D.J. Burt reached base for the 44^th consecutive game, the second-longest streak by an Atlantic League player since 2019. Only York’s Carlos Franco, who reached base in 50 consecutive games last year, has a longer streak.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point Rockers overcame an early 3-0 deficit and went on to top the Staten Island Ferryhawks 9-4 on Tuesday night at Truist Point. Rockers starting pitcher Mickey Jannis became the third Rocker pitcher to win 10 games in a season as he improved to 10-4 on the season.

The Rockers maintained their one-game lead over Gastonia in the Atlantic League’s second half South Division race. High Point improved to 57-31 overall and 16-9 in the second half. The Honey Hunters, after a win over Spire City on Tuesday, stand at 56-32 overall and 15-10 in the second half.

 

The Ferryhawks took a 1-0 lead in the first when Chris Brito scored from third when Luis Castro was picked off first by Jannis. That lead grew to 3-0 in the third when Brandon Pugh hit a lead-off homer and Yoshi Tsutsugo singled home Angel Aguilar.

The Rockers knotted the game in the third when a pair of walks from Staten Island starter Nick Beardsley (L, 2-4) and a single by Shed Long, Jr. loaded the bases. Beau Taylor drew a walk to force home the first run before Zander Wiel delivered a two-run single to tie the game at 3-3.

Staten Island added a  run in the fourth for a 4-3 lead as Jack Elliott slapped a two-out double and scored on an RBI single by Brandon Pugh.

The Rockers surged back in front with a pair of runs in the fourth, taking a 5-4 lead. Ryan Grotjohn doubled and went to third on an infield single by D.J. Burt. Ben Aklinski followed with a triple in the right-center gap to plate both baserunners.

High Point grew its lead to 9-4 after scoring four runs in the fifth on just one hit. The Rockers took advantage of four walks issued by Staten Island hurlers as well as a pair of errors as Brian Parreira’s bases loaded double plated three of the four.

Jannis came out after five innings, allowing five hits and four runs while walking two and striking out 4. He received outstanding support from the bullpen as Jeremy Rhoads put the Ferryhawks down in order in the sixth and Sam Selman struck out the side in the seventh. Jameson McGrane picked up three strikeouts in the eighth before Ryan Dull closed it out with a three-up, three-down ninth.

“(Beardsley) got us the last time out,” said Rockers manager Jamie Keefe of the Staten Island starter who tossed six innings and allowed one run in a 5-1 Ferryhawk win on July 12. “The guys finally settled in and got themselves in a hitter’s count. He’ll get you into one.” Beardsley came out four innings on Tuesday, having allowed six hits and five runs while walking five and striking out two.

“Mickey (Jannis) settled in and his best stuff of the night in the fifth inning,” said Keefe. “In our four games last week, only four guys threw out of the bullpen and we knew the bullpen needed some work. The bullpen was awesome.”

Burt and Wiel each had a pair of hits to lead the Rockers while Parreira had three RBI and Wiel and Aklinski had two each. Pugh led the ‘Hawks with a pair of hits.

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

NOTES: Jannis became the third Rocker pitcher to win 10 or more games in a season, joining Tommy Lawrence (11-3) in 2021 and Joe Van Meter (10-6) in 2019… He also became the third Atlantic League pitcher to hit the 10-win mark this season joining York’s Nick Raquet (11-6) and Gastonia’s Zach Mort (10-2).