CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The High Point Rockers hit three home runs and starting pitcher Craig Stem threw seven shutout innings as the Rockers won their seventh straight game with a 12-0 win over Charleston on Thursday night at Appalachian Power Park.

The seven-game winning streak is the second-longest this year for the Rockers as they won 10 straight between May 18 and June 2. The Rockers are now 37-27 on the season.

Stem and a pair of relievers held Charleston to just four hits on the night and only two Charleston base runners were able to get to second base over the first seven innings.

The Rockers pounded out 10 hits and received home runs from Zander Wiel, Logan Morrison and Tyler Ladendorf.

The Rockers staked Stem to three runs before he even took the mound for his first pitch. In the top of the first, Ben Aklinski drew a one-out walk and Jerry Downs was hit by a pitch by Dirty Bird starter Jordan Stephens. Wiel then unloaded his 15^th home run of the year to give the Rockers a 3-0 lead.

With two outs in the third inning, Wiel walked and scored on Morrison’s seventh homer of the year for a 5-0 High Point advantage.

Downs walked to start the fifth inning and moved to third on a single by Wiel. Morrison’s sacrifice fly scored Downs to give the Rockers a 6-0 lead.  The Rockers doubled their lead to 12-0 with a six-run seventh inning.  Reliever Michael Gunn hit Aklinski with a pitch and was followed by a Downs RBI double. Later in the inning, Ladendorf would hit a three-run homer, his sixth of the year. After walks to Mike Gulino and Johnny Field, Aklinski ripped an RBI single to center to score Gulino.

Stem threw seven shutout innings, allowing just three hits and no walks while striking out four. William Kirwan, recently acquired by the Rockers after being released by Kentucky, came on in the eighth inning and allowed one hit and one walk. Joe Johnson threw a three-up, three-down ninth inning with a strikeout to close out the Dirty Birds.

The Rockers return home for a three-game Independence Day weekend series with North Division champion Southern Maryland. Game time for Friday’s series opener is set for 6:35 p.m. at Truist Point.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The High Point Rockers used three pitchers to hold Charleston to just four hits in a 6-1 victory on Wednesday night at Appalachian Power Park. It was the sixth straight win for the Rockers who improved to 36-25 on the season.

High Point starter Ivan Pineyro (W, 2-0) went six innings, yielded just three hits and one run while recording eight strikeouts. John Hayes went 2.1 innings and gave up one hit while Kyle Mott recorded the final two outs of the game.

Michael Martinez and Giovanny Alfonzo led the offensive with three hits and an RBI apiece. Zander Wiel drove in a pair of runs with his 14^th homer of the season.

The Dirty Birds took an early 1-0 lead off Pineyro when Nick Heath hit his first homer of the year to right field. But little did Charleston know, that would be their only run of the night.

Charleston lefty Derrick Adams didn’t allow a run through the first two innings, but the Rockers tied the game in the third when Alfonzo and Jay Gonzalez started the frame with singles. Ben Aklinski grounded to shortstop Connor Justus who flipped to Diego Goris at second to force Gonzalez but Goris’ throw to first was wide of the bag allowing Alfonso to score.

The Rockers then took the lead with a three-run fifth inning. Jerry Downs led off with a single before Zander Wiel blasted a two-run homer, putting High Point ahead 3-1. Logan Morrison was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a single by Martinez. Alfonzo then singled up the middle to score Morrison for a 4-1 Rockers’ advantage.

In the sixth, Charleston reliever Francisco Carrillo issued walks to Aklinski and Downs then Morrison stroked a double to right to bring home Aklinski. Downs then scored on a Martinez single to put the Rockers ahead 6-1.

High Point and Charleston will conclude their three-game series on Thursday night with a 6:35 p.m. start at Appalachian Power Park.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The High Point Rockers scored five times in the first two innings and rookie starter Nick Evangelista pitched five solid innings as the Rockers won their fifth straight game on Tuesday with a 7-4 win over Charleston at Appalachian Power Park.

The win moves the Rockers to 35-25 on the season with six games remaining. Gastonia, at 41-18, has clinched the South Division playoff spot. The Rockers can secure a tie for first by winning their final six games and having Gastonia lose its final seven, but Gastonia owns the head-to-head tiebreaker and will advance to the playoffs as the first half South champion.

Evangelista (W, 1-1), the rookie who was pitching for Fairleigh Dickinson University just a few short weeks ago, received plenty of support in his second professional start. With one out in the top of the first, Ben Aklinski singled and scored on a home run by Jerry Downs, his ninth of the season. After Zander Wiel grounded out, Logan Morrison added his sixth homer of the year to put High Point up 3-0.

Evangelista yielded a pair of singles in the first but escaped unharmed thanks to a 6-4-3 double play.  In the top of the second, Giovanny Alfonzo drew a one out walk before Aklinski hit his 11^th homer of the year to put High Point up 5-0.

Charleston got on the board with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Evangelista issued a pair of walks and a fielder’s choice to load the bases with one out. Yovan Gonzalez was hit by a pitch to force home one run before Corey Bird drove in two more with a single.

High Point extended its lead to 6-3 when Downs doubled in the seventh to score Alfonzo who had walked. It was a 7-3 Rocker lead after Zander Wiel reached on an error in the eighth and eventually scored on a Tyler Ladendorf ground out. The Dirty Birds matched that run in the bottom of the eighth off reliever Bryce Hensley when Diego Goris and scored on a Rocker infield error.

Evangelista earned his first professional win with 5.2 innings of work, allowing seven hits and three runs while walking two and striking out four. Ryan Dull allowed a pair of hits in the ninth but threw a shutout inning to earn his third save of the season.

The Rockers and Dirty Birds will meet again on Wednesday at 6:35 at Appalachian Power Park in the second game of the three-game series.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point Rockers tied a franchise record by scoring 18 runs during an 18-7 win over the Lexington Legends on Sunday afternoon at Truist Point.

The Rockers scored their 18 runs on 18 hits including three doubles and three home runs.  Ben Aklinski went 4-for-6 with two runs scored, a home run and a game-high four RBI. Zander Wiel had a pair of doubles and two RBI while Jay Gonzalez and Mike Gulino each had three hits and three runs scored.

The win moves the Rockers to 34-25 on the season, 6.5 games behind Gastonia which is 40-18. The Honey Hunters have a magic number of one to clinch at least a share of the first half South pennant.

Jonah Scolaro (W, 2-1) started for the Rockers and gave up a run in the first before gaining a pair of strikeouts to escape the inning.  Aklinksi tied the game in the bottom of the first with a solo homer.

Lexington took a 3-1 lead in the third but the Rockers opened things up with a five-run fourth inning. Aklinski had a two-run single but a Lexington fielding error led to a pair of unearned High Point runs.

“Jonah battled out there today but he got those strikeouts when he really needed them,” said Rockers manager Jamie Keefe. “We’re swinging the bats better than we have in a long time. This was a great series for us. We needed three good games.”

Scolaro went five innings and allowed four hits and three runs while striking out four. Nathan Bates came on in the sixth and allowed five hits and three runs in two-thirds of an inning as Lexington closed the margin to 6-5 before lefty Bryce Hensley relieved and used just one pitch to escape the jam. He then pitched a shutout inning in the seventh and Adam Choplick did the same in the eighth. Centerfielder Johnny Field gave up a run on a hit and three walks in the ninth.

The Rockers cracked the game open with an eight-run outburst in the bottom of the sixth. Downs and Wiel each had an RBI double while Tyler Ladendorf and Giovanny Alfonzo each hit three-run homers in the frame.

Aklinski credited the Rockers sweep of the Legends to being at home.

“(The) West Virginia (series) took a lot out of us,” said Aklinski. “Then we had a long travel day up to Long Island. Winning the first game of this series gut us excited.”

The Rockers will enjoy an off-day on Monday before starting a 13-day stretch of playing every day. High Point will travel to Chareston for a three-game series starting Tuesday and will be back at Truist Point on Friday for a holiday weekend series with Southern Maryland.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point Rockers regained their offensive stroke in knocking 12 hits in a 13-5 win over the Lexington Legends on Saturday night at Truist Point. The Rockers used a five-run fifth inning to break-up a one-run game before cruising home to the victory.

High Point’s Michael Matinez had a pair of hits including a three-run homer while Jerry Downs and Adam Taylor each added a two-run single.

The Rockers were scoring runs almost from the first pitch of the game, tallying a pair of runs in each of the first three innings. Lexington starter Daniel Corcino (L, 2-6) walked the first two batters of the game and after Johnny Field moved to third on a fly ball to right by Jerry Downs, scored on a wild pitch. Michael Martinez then singled home Ben Aklinski, the first of four RBI on the night for Martinez.

Lexington scored a run in the second on back-to-back doubles by Blake Swihart and Cesar Cuevas. The Rockers’ two runs in the second came on an RBI single by Zander Wiel and on a fielding error by the Legends.  In the third, Jerry Downs singled with the base loaded to bring in both runs.

The Legends scored a pair in the top of the third on RBI singles by Phillip Ervin and Montrell Marshall.

Lexington was able to close to 6-5 in the top of the fourth when High Point starter Austin Glorius walked the bases full to start the frame before being relieved by Kyle Mott. An error by catcher Dakota Mulcay on a swinging bunt led to one run and a wild pitch plated the other score.

The Rockers blew up for six runs in the fifth inning with Adam Taylor collecting a pinch two-run single and a three-run homer by Martinez. High Point’s final run scored in the sixth when Mulcay collected his first professional hit, a double to right-center, and scored on a sac fly by Field.

Mott (W, 1-0) went two innings and did not allow a hit while walking one and striking out four to get the win. The Rockers relievers, Mott, Joe Johnson, Adam Choplick and John Hayes, struck out eight Legends over the final four innings.

The Rockers improved to 33-25 overall on the season. Gastonia swept a doubleheader from Southern Maryland to move their record to 40-17 with nine games remaining in the first half.

High Point and Lexington will conclude their three-game series on Sunday at 4:05 p.m. at Truist Point.