HIGH POINT, N.C. – The York Revolution scored three times in the seventh inning and made those three runs stand up in a 3-2 win over the High Point Rockers on Friday night at Truist Point in front of a crowd of 2,155.

The loss drops the Rockers back to two full games behind Gastonia in the Atlantic League’s South Division race. Gastonia tripped Southern Maryland 15-0 on Friday night to improve to 39-17 while the Rockers now stand at 37-19 with seven games remaining in the first half.

The Rockers let an opportunity slip away in the first when Shed Long, Jr. drew a lead-off walk and Michael Russell doubled to left field. York starter Pedro Vazquez retired Zander Wiel on a foul pop out, struck out Beau Taylor and retired Ryan Grotjohn on a fly ball to left.

“We had opportunities early but we didn’t come through. The first inning killed us,” said Rockers manager Jamie Keefe.  “When you’ve got runners in scoring position with your (big hitters) coming up, you’ve got to deliver.”

The Rockers got on the scoreboard in the second when Ben Aklinski was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Aklinski stole second and then, with two outs, scored on a single by Shed Long, Jr.

High Point starter Justin Nicolino went six innings and didn’t allow a run while yielding just three hits and two walks while striking out four.

“Nico threw the ball fantastic,” said Keefe of Nicolino. “That’s as good as he’s looked.”

Cam Bedrosian came on in the seventh and was greeted by consecutive singles from DH Nellie Rodriguez and Richard Urena. Alejandro Rivero sacrificed the runners to second and third, setting the table for a two-run single from catcher Ryan January. Shortstop Trent Giambrone then hit an RBI double to give the Revolution a 3-1 lead.

High Point was able to get one run back in the seventh inning to make it a 3-2 game when Michael Martinez hit a lead-off double, moved to third on an infield out by Long, Jr. and scored on a grounder to second by Michael Russell.

The Rockers tried to rally in the ninth when Emmanuel Tapia opened the inning with a walk and was replaced by designated pinch runner John Daly, arguably the fastest player on the club. But Martinez’s sac bunt attempt was popped up and caught by catcher Ryan January. Long, Jr. then scorched a ball on the ground that was ticketed for a base hit to right field but the ball hit Daly in the leg, resulting in the second out of the inning. Long, Jr. moved into scoring position by stealing second but York’s Andrew Gross fanned Russell to end the game.

Game two of the four-game series is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Saturday at Truist Point. The first 800 fans through the gate will receive a complimentary Rockers Trucker hat. The game will be streamed live on FLO baseball and will also be available on the Mixlr app.

GASTONIA, N.C. – The High Point Rockers set a season-high with 19 base hits and won the final game of the series from Gastonia by a final of 11-1 on Thursday night at CaroMont Health Park.

The win pulls the Rockers to within one game of the first place Honey Hunters in the Atlantic League South Division. High Point is now 37-18 on  the season while Gastonia stands at 38-17. Each team has eight games remaining, including one head-to-head meeting, before the end of the first half of the Atlantic League on Friday, July 7.

High Point’s Michael Russell and Ryan Grotjohn each led the way with four hits apiece. Grotjohn and Zander Wiel accounted for three RBI each. Starting pitcher Ryan Weiss (W, 3-1) went 6.2 innings for the Rockers and allowed five hits and one run while walking two and striking out seven.

High Point started the scoring in the first inning when Dai-Kang Yang hit a two-out two-run homer to dead center, scoring Russell who had singled to reach first.  In the second, Brian Parreira opened the inning with a walk and moved to second on a one-out single by Michael Martinez. Shed Long, Jr. singled to load the bases before Gastonia starter Zach Mort hit Russell with a pitch to give the Rockers a 3-0 lead. Wiel’s sac fly then gave the Rockers a 4-0 advantage.

In the third, Grotjohn started the inning with a double and moved to third on a ground out by Ben Aklinski. Parreira then singled to right to score Grotjohn for a 5-0 Rockers lead.

The Honey Hunters made it a 5-1 game in the bottom of the third on a solo homer by Braxton Davidson.

High Point put its lead back at five runs in the top of the fourth when Russell singled and Wiel unloaded a two-run homer to the 400-foot mark in center as High Point went ahead 7-1. The scoring continued with four more runs in the sixth as the Rockers took an 11-1 lead. Russell doubled and Yang singled and both scored on Grotjohn’s homer. After Ben Aklinski walked, Emmanual Tapia doubled him home with a shot that bounced off the centerfield fence.

Gastonia’s Zach Mort (L, 6-1) absorbed his first loss of the season, allowing 10 hits and seven runs with one walk and six strikeouts.

The Rockers will start a four-game series on Friday at Truist Point against the York Revolution. This weekend’s games will feature fireworks on both Friday night and Monday night with a Rockers Trucker hat giveaway on Saturday. Game time on Friday and Saturday is set for 6:35. The Rockers traditional holiday fireworks extravaganza is scheduled for Monday night at Truist Point. The live stream of all games will be available on FLO Baseball and on the Mixlr app.

NOTES: High Point’s 19 base hits broke the previous season-high of 18 set previously vs. Charleston on May 2 and So. Maryland on June 24… Zander Wiel’s home run was the 47^th of his High Point career, putting him one behind Quincy Latimore who holds the franchise record with 48 career homers… Michael Russell’s four hits marked his second four-hit night of the season.

GASTONIA, N.C. – The Gastonia Honey Hunters used a six-run third inning to erase High Point’s early 3-0 advantage and went on to defeat the Rockers 7-3 on Tuesday night at CaroMont Health Park.

The loss puts the Rockers two full games behind Gastonia for the first time this season. High Point is now 36-17 on the season while the Honey Hunters improve to 38-16.

After holding the Rockers to just four hits last night, Gastonia’s staff allowed just three hits on Wednesday night.

The Rockers took a 3-0 lead in the second inning when Gastonia starter Sam Gaviglio issued three walks to load the bases. Dai-Kang Yang scored on a sac fly to center by Emmanuel Tapia before Michael Martinez doubled to score Ryan Grotjohn and Ben Aklinski.

Gastonia scored six runs in the bottom of the third on the strength of six consecutive base hits, the last of which was a bases loaded triple by Zack Jarrett that brought in all three baserunners. Luis Curbelo and Braxton Davidson added RBI singles off High Point starter Matt Solter (L, 3-2).

Gastonia’s Steven Sensley hit a solo homer leading off the bottom of the fourth for a 7-3 lead. It was the first run allowed by Rockers reliever Cam Bedrosian this year.

Gastonia reliever Sam Freeman (W, 1-0) earned the win with two innings of one-hit relief. Jake Meidnik kept the Rockers hitless in the seventh and Bryan Blanton pitched two hitless innings in closing out the game. Shed Long, Jr. singled in the fifth for High Point’s last hit of the evening. Long had two of High Point’s three hits with Martinez collecting the other.  Jarrett led the Honey Hunters with three RBI.

Game three of the series is scheduled for Thursday night at 6:35 at Gastonia’s CaroMont Health Park. The game will be available on FLO Baseball and the Mixlr app.

GASTONIA, N.C. – The Gastonia Honey Hunters took the first game of a crucial three-game series from High Point, winning 8-3 on Tuesday night at CaroMont Health Park.

High Point and Gastonia entered the contest in a first place tie in the Atlantic League’s South Division with matching 36-16 records and 11 games remaining in the first half of the season. The first half winners of both the North and South Divisions will earn postseason playoff spots. The win puts Gastonia one game ahead at 37-16 while the Rockers are now 36-17.

Zach Godley (W, 4-3), a former Major League pitcher with the Arizona Diamondbacks during a seven-year big league career, held the Rockers to just three hits over six innings while striking out eight. High Point finished the night with just four hits and 13 strikeouts.

High Point took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Ryan Grotjohn doubled off the wall in left and then scored on Ben Aklinski’s single up the middle. Gaston answered with a solo homer by Curtis Terry in the second to tie the game before Steven Sensley doubled off High Point starter Jheyson Manzueta. Cole Freeman followed with an RBI single and Kevin Santa then singled to score Freeman for a 3-1 Honey Hunter lead.

The Rockers knotted the game in the fourth when Beau Taylor drew a walk and Dai-Kang Yang homered to left to forge a 3-3 tie.

But Godley did not allow a hit over his final two innings of work and reliever David Richardson also kept the Rockers hitless through the seventh and eighth innings. Grotjohn singled with one out in the ninth but the Rockers could not score.

Gastonia broke the tie with a pair of runs off Austin Ross (L, 1-1) in the sixth. Sensley reached on a walk and Braxton Davidson homered to put Gastonia up 5-3. In the seventh, High Point’s Jeremy Rhoades walked Carlos Franco, who was replaced at first base by pinch-runner Pedro Gonzalez. Scott Manea’s single moved Gonzalez to third before Terry singled to send Gonzalez home and give the Honey Hunters a 6-3 lead. Sensley then singled to score Manea for a 7-3 advantage. Gastonia added a final run in the eighth on singles by Zach Jarrett and Franco with Jarrett scoring on an infield out by Manea.

Jheyson Manzueta, who signed with the Rockers earlier in the day, allowed three runs and five hits over 4.1 innings but did not figure in the outcome. Grotjohn was the only Rocker with two hits while Yang and Aklinski accounted for the other two runs. Terry and Davidson each had a pair of RBI for the Honey Hunters.

Game two of the series is slated for a 6:35 p.m. first pitch on Wednesday at CaroMont Health Park.

WALDORF, Md. – High Point Rockers catcher Brian Parreira blasted a three-run homer in the seventh inning to erase a 2-0 deficit as the Rockers went on to defeat Southern Maryland 6-4 Sunday afternoon at Regency Furniture Stadium. The win, coupled with a Gastonia loss, moved the Rockers back into a tie for first place in the Atlantic League’s South Division.

Both the Rockers and Honey Hunters stand at 36-16 on the year after Gastonia dropped a 7-2 decision at Staten Island on Sunday. The two teams will meet in a critical three-game series at Gastonia’s CaroMont Health Park Tuesday through Thursday this week.

On Sunday, So. Maryland sent veteran righty Daryl Thompson to the mound. The Atlantic League’s all-time leader in wins and strikeouts, Thompson is the three-time reigning league Pitcher of the Year. Thompson shut out the Rockers for the first six innings, allowing just three hits while his Blue Crabs built a slow and steady 2-0 lead off Rockers starter Mickey Jannis.

Scoreless until the bottom of the third, So. Maryland’s Jack Sundberg slugged a two-run double to right and Philip Caulfield tripled to center on a ball that Ben Aklinski dove for but could not come up with as the Blue Crabs went up 1-0.

In the fifth, the Blue Crabs took a 2-0 lead when, with runners at first and third, Caulfield grounded back to Jannis who whirled and threw to shortstop Ryan Grotjohn for the out at second but Caulfield beat the return throw to first, allowing Michael Baca to score.

The Rockers scored three times in the seventh as the frame started with a single to left by Beau Taylor. After Daikan Yoh lined out, Michael Martinez singled to right to put runners at first and second, Following a Ben Aklinski strike out, Blue Crab manager Stan Cliburn brought in Jacques Pucheu (L, 0-2) to relieve Thompson. Parreira greeted Pucheu with an opposite field three-run homer to left to give High Point its first lead of the day at 3-2.

The Rockers added three more runs in the eighth when Beau Taylor drove in a pair of runs with a double and then scored on a Martinez groundout, leaving High Point with a 6-2 lead.

The Rockers again received outstanding pitching out of the bullpen. Cam Bedrosian (W, 1-0) took over for Jannis with two on and one out in the bottom of the sixth. He struck out Ian Yetsko and Michael Baca to get the Rockers out of the jam. Lefty Sam Selman struck out the side in order in the seventh. Jameson McGrane allowed a one-out solo homer to Khalil Lee in the eighth as the Blue Crabs pulled to within three at 6-3. Ryan Dull earned the save, his league-leading 10^th of the year, in closing out the game. He allowed a solo homer to Ian Yetsko that accounted for the 6-4 final.

Taylor led the Rockers offensively with three hits, two doubles and a pair of RBI. Parreira had two hits with a single to match his three-run homer.

The Rockers will have Monday off and then start a three-game series at Gastonia. First pitch on Tuesday from CaroMont Health Park is slated for 6:35 p.m.

NOTES: Prior to the game, the Rockers released RHP Liam O’Sullivan and placed OF D.J. Burt and RHP Taylor Guerrieri on the Injured List. High Point also signed C Robbie Kellerman who was with the club earlier in the the week… High Point now has an 8-4 series lead over So. Maryland including a 5-1 mark on the road… High Point is 3-3 on the year vs. Gastonia, going 2-1 at home and 1-2 at Gastonia.

WALDORF, Md. – The High Point Rockers unleashed an offensive onslaught on Southern Maryland on Saturday, posting a 19-4 win over the Blue Crabs at Regency Furniture Stadium.

The Rockers improved to 35-16 on the year with the win while Gastonia (36-15) remained in first in the Atlantic League South Division following a 12-3 win at Staten Island.

The Rockers’ offense began when D.J. Burt led off the contest by reaching on an error. Burt moved to second on a single by Shed Long, Jr. and then took third on a long flyout to right by Zander Wiel. Beau Taylor grounded to first and the Blue Crabs retired Long, Jr. at second as Burt scored.

In the second, the Rockers put four more runs on the board as Emmanuel Tapia supplied an RBI single, Long, Jr. belted a two-run homer and Michael Martinez brought in a run on a fielder’s choice. The lead grew to 7-0 in the third when Daikan Yoh and Ryan Grotjohn singled and then scored on ground outs by Martinez and Ben Aklinski.

The Blue Crabs got to Nicolino for three runs in the bottom of the third. With the bases loaded, Nicolino forced in a run with a walk to Jack Sundberg. Ground outs by Philip Caulfield and Braxton Lee plated two more runs to make it a 7-3 game.

After a scoreless fourth inning, High Point added five runs in the fifth for a 12-3 lead. Pitcher A.J. Cole, who came on in relief of Nicolino, hit a solo homer to lead off the fifth, becoming the first Rockers pitcher to ever hit a homer. Long, Jr. delivered a two-run single and Beau Taylor and Yoh each moved runs across the plate with ground outs.

High Point extended the lead to 15-4 with a three-run seventh inning. Blue Crab reliever Josh Martin walked Yoh and Grotjohn then hit Ben Aklinski with a pitch to load the bases. Rockers reliever Bryce Hensley then bounced a single to left that scored two more runs. John Daly brought home the final run of the inning with a fielder’s choice.

High Point tacked on four more runs in the top of the ninth as Martinez singled home one, Zander Wiel walked with the bases loaded to force home a second run and Taylor delivered a two-run bases loaded double.

Lefty Justin Nicolino made his first start for the Rockers since returning to the club on Friday, throwing three innings and allowing just one hit while walking three and striking out two. Cole went two innings and fanned three while allowing two hits and a run.

Long, Jr. finished with three hits and four RBI while Taylor and Hensley each drove in two runs. Taylor, Yoh and Grotjohn each had a pair of hits and Aklinski scored three runs.

Game three of the series is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. on Sunday at Regency Furniture Stadium. The game can be watched via livestream on FloBaseball and the audio is on the Mixlr app.