HIGH POINT, N.C. – High Point Rockers first baseman Luke Napleton hit for the cycle to lead a 13-hit attack as the Rockers closed the season with a 15-2 win over the Gastonia Ghost Peppers at Truist Point on Sunday afternoon.

Napleton singled in the first inning, doubled in the third, hit a solo homer in the fifth and then clubbed an RBI triple in the seventh inning. He finished four-for-five on the day with four RBI. His homer in the fifth inning was his league-leading 41^st of the season. The 455-foot shot ensures Napleton finishes as the Atlantic League leader in home runs.

Gastonia scored an opening inning run off High Point starter Yuhi Sako (W, 8-11) when Wade Kelly led off the game with a triple and scored on an infield grounder to put Gastonia up 1-0.

The Rockers retaliated against Gastonia starter Braden Webb (L, 1-3) with seven runs in the bottom of the first, highlighted by catcher Chris Brady’s first home run of the year, a two-out grand slam that accounted for the final four runs of the inning.

Chandler Seagle belted a solo homer in the second to pull the Peppers within five at 7-2.

The Rockers blew up for another six runs in the third with Hogan Windish hitting a solo homer, Napleton knocking a two-run triple  and Ryan McCarthy adding a run-scoring double.

The Rockers finish with a final record of 26-37 in the second half and 55-71 for the full season. The Ghost Peppers wrap up their season at 33-30 and 71-55.

(Tuesday, September 8, 2026, New York) – The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball today announced that York Revolution first baseman Jacob Teter has been named the ALPB Player of the Week for August 25-30 with High Point Rockers starting pitcher Justin Dunn honored as the Pitcher of the Week.

Dunn, 30, joined the Rockers in mid-August after playing at AAA Salt Lake City. In two starts last week at Gastonia, Dunn tossed a total of 10 innings, allowing just three hits and one run (unearned) while walking six and striking out eight. Dunn started on Sept. 1 and threw five innings, yielding just two hits and an unearned run while striking out three before leaving with the game tied 1-1 and receiving a no-decision. In his start on Sept. 6, Dunn again threw five shutout innings, allowed just a single hit, and was lifted in a scoreless game that the Rockers eventually won 4-0.

For Teter, 27, it marks his second ALPB Player of the Week award, having also been honored on July 6. In six games last week against Long Island, Teter hit .500 with 12 hits in 24 at-bats, banging out five home runs with nine runs scored and 13 RBI. He led all ALPB hitters with a 1.806 OPS and a 1.250 slugging percentage. Teter had multiple hits in five of the six games, homered in three contests and drove in six runs in a 10-1 win on Sept. 4.

Now in the final week of the regular season, three of the four ALPB playoff berths have been decided. South Division first half champion Southern Maryland will play second half champ Lexington in the South Division Championship series. In the North Division, the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars, the first half pennant winner, is awaiting their North Division Championship Series foe. York and Long Island entered the final week with identical 38-19 records. With six games remaining, the North Division second half title remains up for grabs between the Ducks and Revs.

The Atlantic League has advanced 61 players to either Major League affiliates or international league teams this season. The league record for player transfers in a season is 73 set in 2021. Former High Point Rocker LHP Kent Emanuel became the first player this year to go from the ALPB to MLB when he started in August for the Cincinnati Reds against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Atlantic League fans can catch every game, both live and archived, on DugoutTV.org. Anchored by Atlantic League live games, Dugout TV is a streaming platform created to transform how fans experience baseball, and its extended family of diamond sports. DTV expands the reach of the league from a seasonal, game-based product into a year-round destination for fans, historians, journalists, and creators who share a passion for the game in all its forms. Visit DugoutTV.org for more information.

HIGH POINT, N.C. –The sixth annual “Climb to Remember” will take place on Friday, Sept. 11 at Truist Point. This year’s event marks the 25^th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington D.C.

The “Climb to Remember” will include members of the High Point Fire Department, High Point Police Department and other first responders taking part in a stair climb at Truist Point to honor those that lost their lives on 9/11.  The annual event is organized by members of the High Point Fire Department.

“It is important that we never forget those that lost their lives on 9/11,” said Pete Fisch, President of the High Point Rockers. “We have proudly hosted this event since 2022 and will continue to make sure that day is never forgotten.”

Gates will open at 6:00 a.m. and ceremonies will start at 6:15 a.m. The event is free and open to the public to participate or to show support.

The Rockers will be at home that night facing the Gastonia Ghost Peppers in their final Fireworks Friday game of the season. All first responders and military veterans and their families will receive complimentary admission. Game time is 6:35 p.m. and gates will open at 5:45 p.m.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Former High Point Rocker pitcher LHP Kent Emanuel has been named the starting pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds in the first game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday at 1:40 p.m. at Great American Ball Park.

Emanuel will become the ninth former Rocker to reach Major League Baseball after playing in High Point and the sixth to go from the Rockers to MLB in the same season. He will join INF Tyler Ladendorf (Cubs, 2021), RHP David Roberston (Rays, 2021), RHP Jake Petricka (Angels, 2021), RHP Kyle Barraclough (Red Sox, 2023) and LHP Brandon Leibrandt (Reds, 2024).

Emanuel, 34, who started the season with the High Point Rockers of the Atlantic League, made nine starts for the Rockers, going 4-0 with a 2.30 ERA. Emanuel was the Atlantic League Pitcher of the Month in July when he was 3-0 with a 2.45 ERA in six starts. That month, he pitched 33 innings, allowed just 12 hits and five walks while striking out 42. His contract was acquired by the Cincinnati Reds on August 6.

Emanuel made one start at Louisville on August 9, earning a win against St. Paul, allowing just two hits over six innings with eight strikeouts. He was scheduled to start for the Bats again this weekend but his start was scratched.

In his two seasons with the Rockers, 2025 and 2026, Emanuel was 10-1 in 19 starts with a 2.91 ERA.

Emanual played at the University of North Carolina and was the ACC Pitcher of the Year in 2013 after leading the Tar Heels to the College World Series. He was 11-5 in his final season in Chapel Hill and was a first team All-ACC selection in both 2012 and ’13. The Woodstock, Ga. native was a finalist for both the Golden Spikes and Dick Howser Awards in 2013.

Emanuel’s signing by the Reds marked the 11^th transfer of a Rockers player to an MLB affiliate or international league this season and the 60^th since the team was founded in 2019.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – High Point Rockers left-handed pitcher Kent Emanuel has had his contract selected by the Cincinnati Reds. Emanuel is expected to report to the Reds’ Class AAA franchise at Louisville where he will be joined by three other former Rocker pitchers in lefties Ben Wereski and Brandon Leibrandt and righty Cam Cotter.

Emanuel, 34, was 4-0 with a 2.30 ERA in nine starts for the Rockers. He went 3-0 in July and earned Atlantic League Pitcher of the Month honors. In his 47 innings on the year, Emanuel has held opponents to 38 hits and just nine walks while striking out 53. Opposing batters mustered just a .217 batting average against him. In his two seasons at High Point, Emanuel went 10-1 with a 2.91 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 105 innings.

Emanual played at the University of North Carolina and was the ACC Pitcher of the Year in 2013 after leading the Tar Heels to the College World Series. He was 11-5 in his final season in Chapel Hill and was a first team All-ACC selection in both 2012 and ’13. In 2024 with the Miami Marlins, Emanuel made 12 MLB appearances with 12 strikeouts in 17.2 innings. The Woodstock, Ga. native was a finalist for both the Golden Spikes and Dick Howser Awards in 2013.

Emanuel’s signing by the Reds marks the 11^th transfer of a Rockers player to an MLB affiliate or international league this season and the 60^th since the team was founded in 2019. Eight former Rockers have gone on to play in the Majors with pitchers Ryan Weiss, Brandon Leibrandt and Huascar Brazoban pitching this season.