GASTONIA, N.C. – The High Point Rockers set a club record by hitting seven home runs in Sunday’s 13-4 win over Gastonia at Caromont Health Park. Quincy Latimore blasted two home runs to become High Point’s career leader in home runs while Zander Wiel’s home run tied the season home run mark.

The Rockers started off quickly, plating three runs in the first and building a 4-0 lead after two innings. With one out in the first, Ben Aklinski doubled and Jerry Downs walked before Latimore hit his 16^th homer of the year to give the Rockers a 3-0 lead. That homer was the 43^rd of Latimore’s career and pushed him past the career mark of 42 set by Stephen Cardullo during his two-year tenure of 2019 and 2021.

In the second, Michael Martinez reached on a throwing error by Gastonia shortstop Jack Reinheimer and moved to third on a ground out by Jay Gonzalez. Giovanny Alfonzo then singled to center to score Martinez with High Point’s fourth run.

Latimore’s solo homer leading off the fourth was his 17^th of the season and 44^th of his career.  High Point then tied a club record with three homers in the fifth inning. Michael Russell, Downs and Wiel all hit solo shots to put the Rockers up 8-0.

Gastonia scored three in the fifth on a three-run homer by Jack Reinheimer and one in the sixth on a Zach Jarrett homer.

Martinez’s solo homer in the sixth stretched the High Point lead to 9-3. In the seventh, Roldani Baldwin singled home a run and Wiel scored on a balk by Gastonia pitcher Reilly Hovis. Downs’ solo homer in the eighth was the 20^th of his career and the seventh of the game for High Point as the lead grew to 13-4.

Liam O’Sullivan improved to 3-4 on the year by throwing 5.2 innings and allowing six hits and four runs while walking two and striking out two. Gastonia starter Ian McKinney (L, 5-3) allowed seven hits and eight runs in his seven innings while striking out eight.

High Point now stands at 57-51 on the season and 18-24 in the second half of the Atlantic League season.

The Rockers will have Monday off and then start a six-game homestand. High Point will host Lexington on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. at Truist Point.

NOTES: While Latimore broke Cardullo’s mark for career home runs and now has 44 in his career, Downs is close behind, hitting his 41^st and 42^nd of his career on Sunday… Rockers tied club mark for consecutive innings with a home run as they hit blasts in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.

 

 

 

GASTONIA, N.C. – The Gastonia Honey Hunters broke a 4-4 tie in the seventh inning and went on to defeat High Point 11-5 Saturday night at Caromont Health Park.

The Rockers are now 17-24 in the second half and 56-51 on the season.

High Point starter Craig Stem fell behind early, allowing a first inning single to Joseph Rosa and then a homer to Zach Jarrett as Gastonia took a 2-0 lead. In the third, Cole Freeman singled and Jack Reinheimer singled before Jarrett drove home Cole with a ground-rule double.

The Honey Hunters went up 4-0 in the fourth on a solo homer by Reece Hampton.

The Rockers got on the board in the fifth when Jay Gonzalez was safe on an infield single and moved to second on a throwing error by second baseman Joseph Rosa. Giovanny Alfonzo grounded out to move Gonzalez to third and Mike Gulino’s groundout brought Gonzalez home to cut the deficit to 4-1.

The Rockers then tied the game at 4-4 in the seventh. Michael Martinez started the inning with a walk off reliever Quintin Torres-Costa. Gonzalez then singled and Alfonzo was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Zander Wiel pinch-hit for Gulino and hit a sacrifice fly to right to bring home Martinez. Michael Russell followed with a double that scored both Gonzalez and Alfonzo. Euclides Leyer (W, 4-2) was called out of the bullpen and struck out Quincy Latimore to retire the side.

The Honey Hunters regained the lead in the seventh when Jake Skole and Emmanuel Tapia singled off Stem and then a wild pitch put them at second and third. Another wild pitch and a throwing error by Roldani Baldwin allowed Skole to score the go-ahead run. The Rockers brought in Gabriel Castellanos who gave up an RBI single to Freeman before throwing a wild pitch that moved both runners into scoring position. Rosa then hit a sac fly to right that scored Levy and give Gastonia a 7-4 advantage.

Gastonia extended its lead to 9-4 when Tapia hit a two-run single in the eighth and Freeman followed with a two-run homer to make it 11-4.

Baldwin blasted a solo homer in the top of the ninth to make it 11-5. It was Baldwin’s third homer of the week since joining the team on Tuesday.

Stem (L, 5-4) went six innings and allowed nine hits and seven runs while striking out four. Gastonia starter Zack Godley pitched six innings and held the Rockers to four hits and one run while striking out three.

The Rockers and Honey Hunters conclude this three-game series on Sunday at 4:15 p.m. at Caromont Health Park.

GASTONIA, N.C. – The High Point Rockers dropped a 15-0 decision at Gastonia on Friday night at Caromont Health Park. Four Gastonia pitchers held the Rockers to four hits in the contest while the Honey Hunters had 21 hits including six doubles, a triple and four home runs.

Neil Uskali (L, 4-4) was tagged for five runs on 11 hits in five innings of work.  Gastonia starter Alex Sanabia (W 5-5) went six innings and allowed two hits while walking one and striking out three. Giovanny Alfonzo had two hits for the Rockers while Zander Wiel and Roldani Baldwin each added a hit.

In the first, Gastonia Joseph Rosa singled with two outs and Zach Jarrett followed with a single. Luis Roman then doubled to right to score both runners and give Gastonia a 2-0 lead.

In the third, Jack Reinheimer tripled to right before Rosa doubled him home for a 3-0 Honey Hunter lead.

Jarrett hit a two-run homer in the fifth as Gastonia took a 5-0 lead before Jake Skole hit a two-run homer off Devin Fontenot in the sixth to make it a 7-0 contest. Consecutive doubles by Reinheimer and Rosa made it 8-0.

Gastonia added a solo run in the seventh on a solo homer by Luis Castro for a 9-0 lead. The Honey Hunters then scored six runs in the eighth, highlighted by an Emmanuel Tapia three-run homer, off Bryce Hensley.

Reinheimer, Rosa and Jarrett each had three hits for Gastonia.

The Rockers are now 17-23 in the second half and 56-50 on the season.

The Rockers and Honey Hunters will play the middle game of their three-game series on Saturday at 6:15 p.m. at Caromont Health Park.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The High Point Rockers’ offense came alive on Thursday night in a 12-1 win over Charleston at Appalachian Power Park. The Rockers banged out 16 hits including a club-record eight doubles in winning their fifth straight game. A trio of High Point pitchers held the Dirty Birds to just three hits while striking out 14.

Michael Russell and Logan Morrison each had three hits including a pair of doubles while Giovanny Alfonzo added three hits and one double. Quincy Latimore blasted a three-run homer that set the club record for career RBI and tied the career mark with 42 home runs.

The win gives the Rockers a 56-49 overall record and a 17-22 mark in the second half. Losses on Thursday by Kentucky and Lancaster have moved the Rockers into a 1.5 game lead in the race for the Atlantic League Wild Card race. The Wild Card team would earn a berth in the playoffs if either Southern Maryland or Gastonia repeat as second half division champions.

High Point took a 1-0 lead in the first when Morrison doubled and Zander Wiel followed with an RBI double. The Rockers added three runs in the second inning when Jay Gonzalez reached on an error and Alfonzo drew a walk from Charleston starter Alec Kisena (L, 0-2). Russell then cleared the bases with a triple. Morrison then delivered an RBI single to plate Russell for a 4-0 lead.

In the top of the third, Wiel blasted his 26^th home run of the season to put the Rockers up 5-0.

The Rockers scored six times in the fourth when they started the inning with a club record three consecutive doubles from Russell, Morrison and Jerry Downs. Russell was thrown out at the plate on Morrison’s double but Downs picked up the RBI when he drove home Morrison. Wiel then reached on a fielding error by Charleston center fielder Anfernee Seymour before Latimore hit his 15^th homer of the season. It was also Latimore’s 42^nd of his High Point career, tying Stephen Cardullo for the most career home runs as a Rocker.  Latimore’s round-tripper was followed by a single from Roldani Baldwin, a double from Gonzalez, an RBI single from Alfonso and a run-scoring ground out by Mike Gulino. When the smoke cleared, the Rockers were up 11-0.

In the seventh, Gulino singled and then scored on a double by Russell.

The Dirty Birds notched their lone run on a Scott Burcham home run off Jannis in the eighth.

High Point starter Mitch Atkins drew his second start of the season after spending the first four months of the season rehabbing from an arm injury suffered last season. Atkins went four innings and allowed just one hit while walking two and striking out four. Knuckleballer Mickey Jannis (W, 1-1) came on in the fifth and struck out eight in his four innings of work. Joe Johnson worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning and struck out two.

High Point will open a three-game series at South Division-leading Gastonia on Friday night at 6:15 p.m. at Caromont Health Park.

NOTES: Wiel’s 26^th home run leaves him one shy of the club season record of 27 set by Richie Shaffer in 2019… Wiel set the season record for RBI with 83, breaking Jerry Downs’ mark of 81 set last season… Quincy Latimore hit his 42^nd home run as a Rocker to tie Stephen Cardullo for the club record for career homers… High Point set a record for doubles in an inning with four in the fourth and the three consecutive doubles that inning were also a record… Latimore and Downs are now tied for the most career RBI as a Rocker with 149 each… Stephen Cardullo held the previous mark of 146.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – It didn’t take long for new High Point catcher Roldani Baldwin to make a good impression on his Rockers teammates. The former Boston Red Sox farmhand and Dominican Republic native was released by Boston’s Class AAA Worcester team on August 5. On Tuesday of this week, he joined the Rockers and manager Jamie Keefe immediately inserted him into the starting line-up.

Baldwin was behind the plate for Tuesday’s 8-4 win over Charleston as he belted a three-run homer in helping to power the Rockers to the win.

And if that wasn’t enough to convince his teammates that he can play, Baldwin gave an encore performance on Wednesday night, collecting a double and a homer and scoring twice in leading the Rockers to a 4-1 win over the Dirty Birds. The win was the fourth straight for the Rockers as they heat up in their second half pursuit of the Atlantic League’s South Division pennant.

Baldwin had some familiarity with the Rockers, having been a Red Sox teammate with Jeter Downs, the brother of High Point first baseman Jerry Downs, and pitcher Kutter Crawford, the brother of former Rockers reliever Jonathon Crawford.

“Roldani’s had an immediate impact,” said Keefe on Wednesday night. “He is a very experienced catcher who has been around the game a long time and has great tools. He knows how to work with our pitching staff and has earned the trust and respect of his teammates very quickly.”

Baldwin’s arrival will add to High Point’s already talented corps of catchers in Mike Gulino and Dakota Mulcay

Wednesday night’s game was scoreless through five as starters High Point’s Ivan Pineyro (W, 5-3) and Charleston’s Derrick Adams (L, 5-7) kept the hits to a minimum. Pineyro, who moved into a tie for the team lead with his fifth win of the season, went five innings and allowed just three hits and two walks while striking out three and keeping Charleston scoreless.  Adams went eight innings and allowed just two runs on eight hits while striking out seven and not issuing a walk.

The Rockers broke the ice in the fifth when Baldwin doubled to lead off the inning. Jay Gonzalez was thrown out on a swinging bunt by Adams, moving Baldwin to third. From there, Giovanny Alfonzo drove a fly ball to right with Baldwin scoring on the sacrifice fly.

In the sixth. Michael Russell singled, moved to second on a single by Ben Aklinski then took third on a Downs ground out. Zander Wiel’s fly ball to center scored Russell on yet another sacrifice fly.

The Dirty Birds cut the lead in half in the seventh off reliever Devin Fontenot. Charleston’s Devon Torrence drew a walk and then the former Ohio State cornerback stole second and moved to third on a ground out by Miles Williams. Scott Burcham lined a single to center to bring Torrence home and make it a 2-1 game.

 

But Baldwin settled matters in the top of the ninth. Ricardo Gomez relieved Adams to start the inning and Quincy Latimore beat out an infield single. Baldwin then blasted a home run to left to put the Rockers up 4-1 and seal the win.

 

Tyler Higgins allowed one hit and struck out one in pitching the ninth inning and earning his first save of the season.

 

The Rockers are now 55-49 overall and 16-22 in the second half. While High Point still has a substantial deficit to make up in catching Gastonia for the second half title, Wednesday’s win, coupled with a loss by Kentucky, put the Rockers at least temporarily in a tie for the top wild card berth, pending the outcome of Lancaster’s game with York.

 

The Rockers will go for the sweep of the three-game series on Thursday night at 6:35 p.m. at Appalachian Power Park.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The High Point Rockers overcame a 3-0 deficit with seven runs, all with two outs, in the third inning and went on to defeat the Charleston Dirty Birds 8-4 on Tuesday night at Appalachian Power Park. The win was High Point’s third consecutive and the Rockers have won four of their last five games.

With one out in the third, Giovanny Alfonzo and Michael Russell drew walks from Charleston starter Kit Scheetz (L, 5-1). Ben Aklinski struck out for the second out of the inning. Scheetz then hit Jerry Downs with a pitch to load the bases. Zander Wiel drew an RBI walk before Quincy Latimore cleared the bases with a three-run double. Logan Morrison became the second Rocker to be hit by a pitch in the inning and then newcomer Roldani Baldwin, in his second at-bat as a Rocker, blasted a three-run homer.

The Rockers added a run in the seventh when Wiel drilled a ground-rule double to center field then scored on a Latimore single.

Starter Liam O’Sullivan (W, 2-4) went five innings for the Rockers and allowed eight hits and four runs while walking two and striking out six. The Rockers got to Scheetz, the Charleston starter, for seven runs on just two hits and four walks in his three innings of work.

Junior Rincon held the Dirty Birds scoreless in the sixth and seventh inning, allowing one hit and striking out two. Gabriel Castellanos pitched the eighth and ninth, striking out two and allowing a single hit.

Latimore finished the night with two hits and four RBI while Baldwin had three runs batted in.

The Rockers are now 15-22 in the second half and 54-49 on the season.

The Rockers will meet Charleston again on Wednesday night at 6:35 p.m. at Appalachian Power Park in the middle game of the three-game series.