GASTONIA, N.C. – The Gastonia Honey Hunters pushed across a single run in the second inning and made it hold up in a 1-0 win over the High Point Rockers on Saturday night at CaroMont Health Park.

Reece Hampton singled to lead off the second against High Point starting pitcher Austin Glorius. Hampton then stole second and scored on a single to left by Alex Holderbach.

The Rockers left eight runners on base and were just 1-for-8 in batting with runners in scoring position. The Rockers left two men on base in the third inning and had a scoring opportunity in the eighth when Giovanny Alfonzo doubled with two outs but was stranded at second.  Gastonia relievers Sam Bordner and Jesus Balaguer put High Point down in order in both the eighth and ninth innings.

The Rockers are now 0-4 in the second half of the season and 39-31 overall. Gastonia improved to 4-0 and 48-21.

Glorius (L, 3-5) went five innings and allowed five hits and the single run while walking two and striking out three. Lefty Jerry Keel (W, 5-3) went 6.2 innings for Gastonia and held the Rockers to four hits while walking two and striking out seven.

Besides Alfonzo’s seventh inning double, newcomer Kyle Maurice singled in the second and was followed by a single by Tyler Ladendorf but the Rockers left runners on second and third. Alfonzo also had a one out single in the fifth but was erased on a forceout.

The Rockers and Honey Hunters will play a doubleheader at 4:15 p.m. on Sunday in Gastonia. The twinbill was necessitated by Friday’s rainout.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Gastonia’s Luis Castro hit a pair of home runs and drove in three in leading the Honey Hunters to a 6-4 win over High Point on Thursday night at Truist Point.

It marked the third consecutive game that Gastonia had erased an early Rockers lead and gone on to win.

The Rockers scored three times in the bottom of the first as Jay Gonzalez led off the frame with a bunt single, Logan Morrison drew a walk and Zander Wiel singled to bring Gonzalez around to score. Gastonia starter John Anderson then gave up a hard single to Jerry Downs to load the bases before issuing RBI walks to Quincy Latimore and Michael Martinez to give High Point a 3-0 lead.

Gastonia’s Luis Roman hit a solo homer leading off the second against High Point starter Craig Stem.  High Point went up by four runs gain in the fifth when Michel Martinez reached on a throwing error by Roman, the Gastonia third baseman. Mike Gulino then tripled into the right-center gap to score Martinez and give High Point a 4-1 lead.

Gastonia cut it to 4-2 in the sixth when Stem walked Joseph Rosa to start the inning. He moved to third on a Zach Jarrett single and scored on Roman’s sacrifice fly.

Gastonia relievers Onas Farfan, Eucides Leyer and Quintin Torres-Costa held kept the Rockers off the board over the final four innings.

Stem ran into trouble when he allowed Luis Castro’s first homer of the night, a solo shot, to lead off the seventh. After retiring the next two hitters, Stem gave up a single to Rayder Ascanio before giving way to Bryce Hensley. Hensley allowed Rosa an RBI single to tie the game at 4-4.

In the top of the eighth, Jake Skole singled off Hensley with two outs before Castro hit his second homer of the night to lift the Honey Hunters into the lead at 6-4.

Hensley (L, 1-2) allowed 3 hits and two runs over his 1.1 innings of work. Stem went 6.2 innings and allowed eight hits and four runs while walking two and striking out four. Farfan (W, 3-2) allowed just one hit and struck out three over his two innings.

Gonzalez and Downs each had a pair of hits for the Rockers.

The loss leaves the Rockers at 0-3 to start the second half of the Atlantic League season and 39-30 overall. Gastonia improved to 47-21 and 3-0.

The next three games in the series will all be played at Gastonia’s CaroMont Health Park starting with Friday’s 6:15 p.m. start.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – A ninth inning rally fell just short as Gastonia escaped Truist Point with a 7-6 win over the High Point Rockers on Wednesday night.

Trailing 7-4 in the ninth, the Rockers surged behind a leadoff infield single from Quincy Latimore and when Michael Martinez was hit by a pitch from Gastonia’s ace reliver Jesus Balaguer, the Rockers had the tying run at the plate. Adam Taylor lined a single to right to score Latimore and make it a 7-5 game. Logan Morrison then pinch-hit and lined a 3-2 pitch to right to plate Martinez and cut the margin to 7-6.

But the rally fizzled as Giovanny Alfonzo’s sacrifice bunt attempt was fielded by first baseman Emmanuel Tapia who threw out Taylor at third. Balaguer then struck out Jay Gonzalez and Tyler Ladendorf to earn his 14^th save of the year.

The Rockers had started strong, scoring twice in the first inning on a Zander Wiel double and a homer from Jerry Downs, his 10^th of the year. Gastonia’s Jake Skole tripled to lead off the second and scored on a groundout to cut the Rockers’ lead to 2-1. Herlis Rodriguez’s solo homer leading off the third off High Point starter Ivan Pineyro tied the game at 2-2.

High Point regained the lead in the bottom of the third on a walk to Alfonzo and a two-run homer from Ladendorf to take a 4-2 lead.

Gastonia tallied a run in the third when Pineyro walked the bases loaded and allowed a run on a wild pitch. The Honey Hunters then scored three times in the fifth, knocking four consecutive doubles off Pineyro to go ahead 6-4. Gastonia extended its lead to 7-4 in the seventh on two more doubles by Luis Roman and Luis Castro.

Pineyro (L, 2-1) went five innings and allowed eight hits and six runs while walking three and striking out five.  Gastonia’s Zack Godley (W, 2-0) pitched six innings and yielded five hits and four runs with two walks and six strikeouts.

High Point is now 0-2 to start the second half of the Atlantic League season while Gastonia improves to 2-0.

The Rockers and Honey Hunters continue the series Thursday night at Truist Point with a 6:35 p.m. first pitch.

GASTONIA, N.C. – High Point and Gastonia traded big innings but in the end it was Mother Nature that prevailed. The Rockers fell to Gastonia 8-5 on Tuesday night in a rain-shortened five inning game at CaroMont Health Park.

The Rockers start the second half of the Atlantic League season with an 0-1 record while standing at 39-28 overall.

Rookie Nick Evangelista made his third start and faced Gaston’s Reilly Hovis. Hovis held the Rockers without a baserunner through the first three frames as the Honey Hunters took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third on a solo homer by Emmanuel Tapia.

The Rockers bounced back with a vengeance in the top of the fourth. Jay Gonzalez walked and stole second in front of a Zander Wiel walk. Jerry Downs singled to drive in Gonzalez and Quincy Latimore unloaded a three-run homer. Tyler Ladendorf doubled to left and then scored on a single by Mike Gulino and the Rockers had a five-run inning and a 5-1 lead.

But Gastonia flipped the table in the bottom of the fourth. Joseph Rosa led off with a triple and Zach Jarrett unloaded his seventh homer of the year to make it a 5-3 game. Walks to Reece Hampton and Rayder Ascanio sandwiched around a ground out put runners on first and third. Ascanio set off to steal second and Gulino’s throw to second was cut off by Giovanny Alfonzo but his throw to the plate was not in time to nail Hampton. Stuart Levy then doubled home Ascanio and Bryce Hensley came on to relieve Evangelista. Hensley was greeted by a double by an RBI double from Herlis Rodriguez, and fielding error at third by Michael Martinez that plated a run and a Rosa double. The Honey Hunters tallied seven times in the inning and led 8-5.

Hovis put the Rockers down in the fifth and reliever Austion Glorius did the same against Gastonia in the bottom of the fifth. That’s when the rains came and after a 28-minute delay, the umpires called the game.

Evangelista (L, 1-2) gave up five hits and six runs in his 3.2 innings while Hovis (W, 5-2) allowed five hits and five runs in his five innings with one strikeout.

The Rockers and Gastonia move the series to Truist Point on Wednesday and Thursday with each game starting at 6:35 p.m. The final three games of the series will be played over the weekend in Gastonia.

GASTONIA, N.C. – The High Point Rockers closed out the first half of the Atlantic League season with an 8-1 win over South Division first half champion Gastonia on Monday night at CaroMont Health Park. Jay Gonzalez posted his first five-RBI night game as a Rocker to lead the 13-hit attack.

The Rockers finished second in the South Division with a 39-27 record. Gastonia claimed the first half at 44-21. The win was High Point’s first over Gastonia this season after having lost the first six meetings.

High Point shortstop Giovanny Alfonzo set a milestone on Monday night. With a sixth inning single, Alfonzo surpassed Stephen Cardullo for the most basehits in Rockers history. The single was Alfonzo’s 231st basehit as a Rocker.

The Rockers started Liam O’Sullivan, an Atlantic League veteran who signed with the Rockers on Monday. O’Sullivan went four shutout innings, allowed just three hits and did not yield a walk while striking out one. Gastonia starter Jerry Keel sailed through the first two innings but walked High Point catcher Dakota Mulcay leading off the third. Mulcay moved to second on a ground out by Giovanny Alfonzo and took third on a wild pitch by Keel before scoring on a groundout by Jay Gonzalez.

The Rockers extended their lead to 4-0 by scoring three times in the top of the fourth. Logan Morrison started the rally by drawing a walk from Keel and moving to second when Quincy Latimore’s ground ball to third was misplayed by Luis Roman. Morrison and Latimore then executed a double steal before Tyler Ladendorf drew a walk to load the bases. Adam Taylor’s fly ball to center scored Morrison before Mulcay lined a single to center to score Latimore. Jay Gonzalez then singled home Ladendorf.

After a scoreless fifth, the Rockers added three more runs in the sixth to take a 7-0 lead. Mulcay singled with one out and Gastonia relieved Keel with Ezequiel Zabaleta. Alfonzo greeted Zabaleta with a single before Gonzalez then hit a three-run homer to center, his first home run of the season.

John Hayes took over for O’Sullivan to start the fifth and threw two hitless innings before Nathan Bates relieved to start the seventh. The Honey Hunters’ Jake Skole doubled and scored on a pair of ground ball outs to break-up the shutout.  The Rockers added their final run in the ninth when Latimore singled and scored on a double by Zander Wiel.

High Point pitchers allowed just four hits all night while striking out five.

The Rockers return to Gastonia on Tuesday for a 6:15 meeting with the Honey Hunters. With two games in High Pont on Wednesday and Thursday and five in Gastonia, the two clubs will meet seven times this week.

NOTES: Giovanny Alfonzo had two base hits to collect his 231^st career hit as a Rocker, surpassing Stephen Cardullo’s franchise record of 230.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – On a momentous day for the High Point Rockers, Southern Maryland spoiled the fun with a 4-2 win in front of a crowd of 4,001 at Truist Point on Sunday.

Sunday’s game marked the final contest for High Point centerfielder Johnny Field who announced prior to the game that he was retiring from baseball following the contest. It also marked the first professional appearance in nine years for starting pitcher Chris Rollins who signed with the Rockers earlier in the day. And High Point’s attendance was the third-highest in Truist Point history.

Field had a game worthy of a career that included time in the Major Leagues with both Minnesota and Tampa. He led off the bottom of the first with a solo homer to put the Rockers up 1-0 and finished the day with three hits.

With two starting pitchers sidelined with injuries and three others who have had their contracts purchased by other organizations, the Rockers were thin on starting pitchers. They turned to Rollins, 35, who had last pitched in the Atlantic League with the Camden River Sharks in 2013. Despite the nine years between professional appearances, Rollins kept the Blue Crabs hitless through the first four innings. Southern Maryland’s Jack Sundberg managed the first hit, a single, to lead off the fifth. After retiring the next two hitters, Rollins was relieved by Kyle Mott who walked Jared Walker and then gave up a three-run homer to Alex Crosby to put the ‘Crabs up 3-1.

High Point’s Tyler Ladendorf hit a solo homer leading off the bottom of the seventh that pulled the Rockers to within two at 4-2. But Southern Maryland relievers Bradley Roney and Endrys Briceno held the Rockers hitless over the final two innings.

“We couldn’t ask Chris to do any more than he did,” said Rockers manger Jamie Keefe.  “He kept putting zeroes up on the board. In that situation (runner on third, two outs in the fifth) we wanted to put the ball in the hands of one of our guys and it was one pitch (that did the damage).”

Rollins received a call from Rockers pitching coach Frank Viola late in the week asking if he was interested in pitching a game for the Rockers. Rollins, who runs a baseball instructional academy in New Jersey, has stayed active on the mound, pitching in the Tri County League in South Jersey.

“I had to take a lot of breathes to try and slow it down a little bit,” said Rollins. “I just tried to treat it like one of my baseball games back home. Not let it get too big or go too fast for me. These aren’t the same hitters I’m used to facing. These guys are among the best in the world and grooving a 3-1 fastball isn’t always the best idea. I’d rather walk a guy and then do damage control.”

Rollins finished with four strikeouts and five walks while allowing just one hit and one run in 4.2 innings of work. Mott (L, 1-1) allowed three runs, three walks and two hits in 1.1 innings.

Field, a native of Las Vegas, played collegiately at Arizona and helped the Wildcats to a College World Series appearance. A fifth round draft pick in 2013 by Tampa Bay, he reached the Major Leagues with the Rays in 2018 and finished that campaign with the Twins.

“I told Jamie at the start of the year that I would give it a half season and see if I could sign with an organization,” said Field. “I had a blast, had a great time with the guys in the clubhouse. But I’m 30 now and I’ve accomplished what I wanted to accomplish in the game. Now I’m ready for what’s next.”

The loss puts the Rockers at 38-27 with one game remaining in the first half of the season. The Rockers will play at Gastonia on Monday at 6:15 p.m. to close the first half.

High Point returns home to face Gastonia on Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. at Truist Point.