WALDORF, Md. – The High Point Rockers allowed four first inning runs and battled from behind all night in dropping an 8-2 decision to Southern Maryland on Thursday night at Regency Furniture Stadium.

The Rockers are now 4-5 while Southern Maryland leads the Atlantic League’s South Division at 7-2.

High Point starter Matt Solter (L, 0-2) allowed four first inning runs before settling down and retiring the final 14 batters he faced. However, the Rockers stranded 16 runners on base and, despite outhitting the Blue Crabs 8-6, could muster just two runs.

The Rockers loaded the bases with nobody out in the first off Southern Maryland starter Devin Kirby-Williams but came away empty-handed with three straight strikeouts.

Solter struggled to find the strike zone in the bottom of the first. After a lead-off strikeout, Solter allowed a single to Brody Fahr, a walk to Viandel Pena and another single to Ethan Williams to load the bases. A muffed throw to second by Aidan Brewer allowed one run to score and left the bases loaded. Alejandro De Aza drew an RBI walk and Taylor Darden delivered a two-run single to give the Blue Crabs a 4-0 advantage.

The Rockers finally got on the scoreboard in the fifth when Braxton Davidson reached on a lead-off double and scored on a single by D.J. Burt to cut the deficit to 4-1.

Solter left after five innings, having retired the last 14 men he faced and striking out nine. Daniel Blair came on to start the sixth and allowed a lead-off homer to Ethan Wilson as the Crabs took a 5-1 lead. After issuing a pair of walks, Blair yielded a triple to Sebastian Mueller to score two and give Southern Maryland a 7-1 lead. The Crabs added an unearned run in the eighth.

Max Viera picked up an RBI in the eighth when he singled home Ethan Skender who had walked off reliever Ethan Bates.

Rafi Vazquez (W, 2-0) earned the win in relief.

The Rockers and Blue Crabs meet in the fourth game of the six-game series on Friday night at 6:35 p.m. at Regency Furniture Stadium. Rocker fans can follow the action live on HomeTeamLive.com (DugoutTV) or the audio broadcast on the free app MixLR.

WALDORF, Md. – The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs broke a scoreless tie with a pair of runs in the third inning and went on to post a 7-2 win over High Point in a Wednesday matinee at Regency Furniture Stadium.

The Rockers are now 4-4 on the season while Southern Maryland improved to 6-2.

The Blue Crabs tagged High Point starter Fin Del Bonta-Smith (L, 0-1) with a two-run homer off the bat of Stephen Paolini in the third and added a two-run double from Taylor Darden in the fourth. The Rockers countered with a solo homer from Murphy Stehly, his third of the season, in the fourth as the Rockers trailed 4-1.

The Rockers were held to just two hits by Southern Maryland starter Ian Kahaloa (W, 2-0), one of those Stehly’s homer.

The Rockers closed the gap to 4-2 in the top of the sixth when Nolan Watson singled and scored from first on a double by Anthony Servideo.

Southern Maryland scored three times in the sixth to take a 7-2 lead, the big blow being a two-run double from Darden.

The Rockers had opportunities late, stranding two runners on base in the seventh and leaving the bases loaded in the eighth.

Servideo and Max Viera each had a pair of hits for the Rockers, Darden, Paolini, Quinn McDaniels and Ethan Wilson each collected a pair of hits for the Crabs.

The Rockers received excellent defense with centerfielder Troy Schreffler showing off his arm. In the first inning, Viandel Pena tried to stretch a single into a double and was cut down at second base on a perfect throw from Schreffler. The Blue Crabs’ Stephen Paolini tried to turn a double into a triple in the fifth but a perfect relay from Schreffler to second baseman Patrick Sanchez to third baseman Anthony Servideo prevented that from happening.

The Rockers and Blue Crabs meet in the third game of the six-game series on Thursday night at 6:35 p.m. at Regency Furniture Stadium. Rocker fans can follow the action live on HomeTeamLive.com (DugoutTV) or the audio broadcast on the free app MixLR.

WALDORF, Md. – The High Point Rockers belted three home runs to support starter Kent Emanuel as the Rockers held off Southern Maryland 6-5 on Tuesday night at Regency Furniture Stadium.

The win pushes the Rockers to 4-3 on the year while Southern Maryland suffers just their second loss to fall to 5-2.

High Point found itself trailing for much of the first half of the game. But after taking the lead in the fifth inning, it was catcher Luke Napleton’s solo homer in the ninth that provided the eventual winning margin.

Emanuel (W, 1-0) went six innings and allowed seven hits and all four runs, three earned, before turning it over to the bullpen in the seventh.

Southern Maryland touched Emanuel for a pair of runs in the first for a 2-0 lead. After shortstop Viandel Pena hit a solo homer, Alejandro De Aza rolled a slow grounder to second and Braxton Davidson could not come up with D.J. Burt’s low throw. De Aza would take third on a single by Quinn McDaniel and then scored on a wild pitch for an unearned run.

Nick Longhi closed High Point’s deficit to 2-1 with a solo homer in the second, his second round-tripper of the year.

Southern Maryland took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the second when Taylor Darden singled and scored on a double by Brody Fahr.

Murphy Stehly homered in the fourth with Max Viera aboard to tie the game 3-3.

The Blue Crabs regained the lead at 4-3 in the bottom of the fourth on a walk to Ezequiel Pagan and an RBI single from Fahr.

An RBI triple by Aidan Brewer with D.J. Burt aboard in the fifth tied the game at 4-4. Anthony Servideo followed with a single to plate Brewer and give High Point its first lead of the night.

Ryan Chasse relieved Emanuel in the seventh but after securing the first two outs, issued a pair of walks. Scott Rouse put out the fire by striking out Quinn McDaniel to escape the jam. Rouse set the Crabs down in order in the eighth with the Rockers holding a 5-4 lead.

Napleton’s homer, his first of the year, came leading off the top of the ninth and provided the insurance run in High Point’s 6-4 lead.

Alec Barger was called on in the ninth to close out the win but with one out and one on, Viandel Pena lined an infield single off Barger’s leg to score one run and bring the go-ahead run to the plate. After getting a ground out and hitting a batter, Barger departed for Xander Hamilton who came on and struck out McDaniel for the final out and his first save of the year.

Connor Overton went five innings and struck out eight for Southern Maryland but allowed all five Rockers runs and was saddled with the loss.

Game two of the six-game set at Regency Furniture Stadium is set for a 10:30 a.m. first pitch on Wednesday. Rocker fans can follow the action on DugoutTV and listen to an audio-only broadcast on the free MixLR app.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 22, 2026

HIGH POINT ROCKERS 6, GASTONIA GHOST PEPPERS 5

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point Rockers rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth to post a come-from-behind 6-5 win over the Gastonia Ghost Peppers on Wednesday night at Truist Point. The win evens the Rockers record on the season at 1-1.

Trailing 5-3 entering the ninth, Gastonia reliever Blake Brown (L, 0-1) walked the first four men he faced, throwing 17 consecutive balls, forcing home a run and briningg the Rockers to within 5-4. Rockers DH Nick Longhi then flew out to right, allowing Ethan Skender to tag and score from third to tie the game. After Max Viera beat out an infield single to re-load the bases, Aidan Brewer lined out to center with a sacrifice fly, allowing Murphy Stehly to tag up and score the game-winning run.

The walk-off sac fly was the first of Brewer’s career as a Rocker.

Fin Del Bonta Smith made his first trip to the hill in 2026 and delivered an impressive outing, tossing five scoreless innings while allowing just two hits and striking out four.

The game was scoreless until the sixth inning when Gastonia cleanup hitter Grant Lavigne broke the deadlock with a two-run double, driving in Nate Scantlin from third and Anthony Prato from second to give Gastonia a 2-0 lead. Lavigne later came around to score on a fielder’s choice, capping off a three-run sixth inning.

High Point responded in the bottom half of the sixth, capitalizing on control issues from the Gastonia bullpen, which issued four consecutive walks to begin the inning.  Viera then drove in Skender via a sac fly to pull the Rockers within one run at 3-2.

Gastonia answered back in the seventh, sending seven hitters to the plate and extending the lead. Trendon Craig delivered an RBI single to score Jack Reinheimer from second and Lavigne added his third RBI of the night with a sac fly that plated Scantlin, pushing the lead to 5 to 2.

DJ Burt provided a spark for the Rockers offense in the seventh, doubling and later scoring to trim the deficit to 5 to 3. High Point threatened to do more damage after loading the bases with no outs, but Halton Hardy came out of the bullpen and shut the door, striking out all three batters he faced to end the inning and strand the tying runs.

Gastonia skipper Goose Gazzo went to Brown in the ninth with a save opportunity in sight. Brown was unable to find the zone as he walked the first four batters he faced.

Rookie righty Duncan Howard W, 1-0), from Kernersville, tossed a scoreless top of the ninth, striking out two and working around a triple, to earn his first professional win.

The rubber match of this three game set is slated to start at 6:35 pm on Thursday night. High Point will send southpaw Ben Wereski (0-0) to the hill to face off against Ljay Newsome (0-0).

 

 

FINAL: Gastonia Ghost Peppers 3, High Point Rockers 1

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The Gastonia Ghost Peppers broke a 1-1 tie on Jace Rinehart’s two-run eighth inning homer and took the season-opener from the High Point Rockers 3-1 at Truist Point on Tuesday night in front of a crowd of 2,001.

Hits were hard to come by in this one as the Rockers only tallied three hits in their 2026 debut. Gastonia managed nine hits.

Rockers starter Kent Emanuel shutout the Ghost Peppers through his four innings of work, yielding just two hits while walking two and striking out eight. He left the game after four with a 1-0 lead as centerfielder Bryson Parks singled to open the third inning, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI single from Murphy Stehley.

Gastonia tied the game in the sixth off reliever Win Scott (L, 0-1) as Anthony Prato drew a one out walk and scored on a double to left on a ball that was lost in the lights.

The score remained 1-1 until Scott allowed a lead-off double to Gastonia’s Grant Levigne to open the eighth. After Xander Hamilton came on in relief, Rinehart blasted his two-run homer to give the Peppers a 3-1 lead.

The Rockers did not get a base hit after the third inning as three Pepper relievers combined to retire the last 20 batters in a row.

Spencer Adams started for Gastonia and covered five innings, allowing all three High Point hits, while striking out nine and not allowing a walk.

“Kent had a great start but it was one of those nights,” said Rockers manager Jamie Keefe. “Adams looked really good, he was pounding the zone with velocity. We just had a ball that got lost in the sky and that will happen.

“For our offense to be successful, we have to get hits and we have to put the ball in play,” said Keefe.  “We didn’t do that tonight.”

Gastonia pitchers recorded 16 strikeouts on the night while High Point hurlers fanned 13. Cory Thompson (W, 1-0) earned the win with two hitless innings and four strikeouts.

The season-opening loss marks just the second time that the Rockers have lost an opener.

Game two of the three-game series at Truist Point will start at 6:35 p.m. on Wednesday night. The Rockers will send RHP Fin Del Bonta-Smith to the mound to face Gastonia RHP Connor Grey.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The York Revolution overcame an early 3-0 deficit and hit five home runs en route to a 7-4 win over the High Point Rockers to win the Atlantic League Championship for a second consecutive season on Wednesday night at Truist Point.

After the Rockers took a 3-0 lead in the first inning, the Revs rebounded with a steady offensive attack and a bullpen that held High Point to just two hits over the final 4.1 innings.

York wins the best-of-five series 3-1 and becomes the first ALPB team to have two sets of back-to-back championships, having won titles in 2010-11 and again in 2024-25.

The Rockers touched Revs starter Braden Scott for three runs, all with two outs, in the bottom of the first. Luis Gonzalez drew a lead-off walk and stole second while Scott fanned Drew Mendoza and Ben Aklinski. Evan Edwards then skyed a fly ball to short right field that fell between second baseman Jalen Miller and right fielder Jaylin Davis for a single that brought Gonzaez around with High Point’s first run. Alex Dickerson then hit the first pitch he saw for a home run to right, putting High Point up 3-0.

The Revs used the long ball to nibble away at the Rockers’ lead. Shayne Fontana hit a solo homer leading off the second to cut High Point’s lead to 3-1. Kyle Martin did the same leading off the fourth to make it a 3-2 game.

York took the lead with three runs in the top of the fifth, with one out, Miller singled and scored on a double to right-center by Kyle Martin. Caleb McNeely then followed with a two-run homer to dead center to give York a 5-3 lead.

The Rockers clawed one run back in the fifth when Gonzalez was hit by a pitch to start the frame. After a walk to Mendoza, Aklinski lined an RBI single to center to pull the Rockers to within a run at 5-4. With two outs, York brought in Josh Mollerus to retired Luke Napleton on a fly ball to left that Caleb McNeely caught on the warning track.

York’s bullpen of Josh Mollerus, Jimmy Burnette, Brendan Cellucci and Nick Mikolajchak didn’t strike out a single Rocker but kept the ball in play. The Rockers managed just a single by Aklinski and another by Aidan Brewer over the final four innings.

A solo homer by Jaylin Davis in the eighth and a final solo shot from Elvis Peralta in the top of the ninth propelled the Revs to the win.

Cellucci (W) got the win with 1.2 innings of one-hit relief. Del Bonta-Smith took the loss, allowing seven hits and five runs over 4.2 innings with a walk and five strikeouts.

NOTES: York’s championship is its fifth, the most of any active ALPB club . . . Only Somerset with six wins, has more . . . York has now won back-to-back championships, coupling its 2010-2011 titles with 2024-25 . . . York is now 15-2 all-time in LCS games and has won all five LCS series . . . The ALPB Championship trophy remains in Pennsylvania for the fourth straight year following the 2022-23 wins by the Lancaster Stormers . . . The North Division has won four of the last five ALPB titles . . .