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Big South Championship tickets on sale now

April 14, 2023 by Steve Shutt

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) — Tickets for the 2023 Big South Baseball Championship at Truist Point in High Point, N.C., are now on sale. The tournament is scheduled for May 25-27 and this year’s event features the top four teams in the conference facing off in a three-day, double-elimination showdown to determine the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals.

Tickets are general admission, and cost $11 for a daily pass in advance through May 21. Starting May 22, tickets increase to $15 for adults, while seats for high school/college students with ID, as well as children 12 and under, will cost $12. To purchase advance tickets, click on the links below, or call 336-888-1000. Fans can email [email protected] for additional information and/or check the availability of stadium suites.

The 2023 Big South Baseball Championship schedule is below, and subject to change. Gates to Truist Point will open one hour prior to the first game of each day.

Thursday, May 25 (ESPN+) – Day 1 Tickets

Game 1 – No. 1 seed vs. No. 4 seed, 1:00pm

Game 2 – No. 2 seed vs. No. 3 seed, 5:00pm

Friday, May 26 (ESPN+) – Day 2 Tickets

Game 3 – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 11:00am (elimination)

Game 4 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 3:00pm

Game 5 – Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 7:00pm (elimination)

Saturday, May 27 (Championship Day) – Day 3 Tickets

Game 6 – Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 12:00pm (ESPNU)

Game 7 – If necessary, 45 minutes following conclusion of Game 6 (ESPN+)

Rockers name Assistant GM

April 13, 2023 by Steve Shutt

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Caroline Cooling, the director of corporate partnerships and fulfillment for the High Point Rockers, has been promoted to assistant general manager. Rockers’ team president Pete Fisch made the announcement today.

She joined the club prior to its first game in 2019 and has had a hand in every bit of success that the Rockers have enjoyed during their first four years of existence. Caroline was instrumental in keeping the team relevant during the Covid-19 pandemic and in its success both before and after. She has been an integral part of why High Point’s Truist Point has been named the Atlantic League Ballpark of the Year in two of the last three seasons.

“Caroline has been a steady presence within our front office and successfully added a number of roles since she started,” said Fisch. “As the assistant general manager, she will add more responsibilities that will help keep our club among the best in the Atlantic League.”

Cooling started with the Rockers as an account executive, working to sell season tickets and group ticket packages. She moved into corporate partnerships and developed the Rockers’ first apparel partnership.

Cooling, a graduate of the University of North Carolina, worked with the Diamond Heels for three seasons within the marketing and in-game promotions department. She also served an internship with the Charlotte Checkers and joined the Rockers prior to their first game in 2019.

A past President of the High Point Jaycees, Cooling has also served as the Chairman of the Board. She is a 2021 recipient of the Triad Business Journal’s “20 in their 20s” award.

About High Point Baseball, Inc.

The High Point Rockers, operated by the non-profit High Point Baseball, play their home games at Truist Point, a state-of-the-art $36 million ballpark which serves as a catalyst to the rejuvenation of downtown High Point. In 2022, the Rockers reached the League Championship Series of the 10-team Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an MLB Partner League with clubs from New York to North Carolina.

About the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB)

Celebrating its 25th Anniversary season in 2023, the Atlantic League is Major League Baseball’s first Professional Partner League, a player gateway to the major leagues, and a leader in baseball innovation. ALPB has sent over 1,200 players to MLB organizations while drawing more than 45 million fans to its family-friendly ballparks throughout its 25-year history. Please visit www.AtlanticLeague.com.

Three vets, newcomer added to Rockers

April 6, 2023 by Steve Shutt

HIGH POINT, N.C. – As the High Point Rockers head towards the start of spring training on April 15, the club has signed three returning players and a new catcher. Infielder J.R. Di Sarcina, outfielder Cesar Trejo, and pitcher Jonathon Crawford have signed along with catcher Brian Parreira.

The Rockers will open spring training on April 15 in preparation for the start of the Atlantic League season which begins on April 28. The Rockers will start the season at home against the Long Island Ducks.

DiSarcina will be making his third appearance with the Rockers in 2023. He originally joined the Rockers right out of UMass-Dartmouth and made the 2021 Opening Day roster. DiSarcina went on to hit .257 in 71 games with five home runs and 28 RBI in his 2021 debut season. In 2022 he started the season with the Lincoln Saltdogs of the American Association and played in 47 games before the Rockers acquired him as a free agent on July 26, 2022. During High Point’s trip to the Atlantic League Championship series, DiSarcina played in 22 contests and provided middle infield support.

Trejo is also back for a third time with the Rockers. Like DiSarcina, Trejo made the 2021 Opening Day roster and went on to hit .280 with six home runs and 17 RBI in 26 games for the Rockers before being traded to Southern Maryland. He spent time with Gastonia and the Cleburne Railroaders of the American Association in 2022 before returning to High Point at mid-season last year. Trejo appeared in 25 games for the Rockers down the stretch and leading into the ALPB South Division Championship series with Gastonia.

Crawford worked as a set-up man out of the bullpen for the Rockers in 2023, striking out 44 in 28 innings while walking 31 and posting a 4.82 ERA for the season. During his two seasons as a Rocker, he has appeared in 50 games and recorded 77 strikeouts in 51.1 innings of work. His 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings pitched is the highest in Rockers’ history.

Parreira is a catcher who played collegiately at USC-Aiken where he was a career .290 hitter with 37 homers and 162 RBI over four seasons. He has played five seasons in the Frontier and Pioneer Leagues, hitting .240 with 23 homers and 108 RBI. In 2023, Parreira was with the Billings Mustangs of the Pioneer League where he posted a .277 average and eight homers to go with 46 RBI.

The Rockers will open the 2023 season at home on April 28 with the Long Island Ducks. High Point will play its first 10 games at Truist Point through May 8. Individual game tickets are currently on sale at the Rockers Box Office. Visit HighPointRockers.com or call the box office at (336) 888-1000.

About High Point Baseball, Inc.

About the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB)

Former Rocker Brownell named to ALPB Silver Anniversary team

April 6, 2023 by Steve Shutt

(April 6, 2023, New York) – John Brownell, a right-handed starting pitcher and the league’s Pitcher of the Year in 2015, was named to the Atlantic League Silver Anniversary team on Thursday. He is the 12th of 25 outstanding players to be named to the honorary squad.

While Brownell spent the majority of his career with the Long Island Ducks, he did pitch for the High Point Rockers during the 2019 season, helping High Point reach the playoffs in their inaugural Atlantic League season.

Brownell first joined the Atlantic League with the Long Island Ducks in 2012, helping the franchise to its second league championship. He then won nine games in 2013, his first full season in the Atlantic League, before posting four consecutive double-digit win totals from 2013-17. In 2015, Brownell led the ALPB in wins, complete games, shutouts and strikeouts and was named the league’s Pitcher of the Year.

The righty added three more wins during the 2013 Atlantic League playoffs, as the Ducks beat Somerset in five games to win the League Championship Series, completing back-to-back title runs. Brownell was the winning pitcher in Game 1 and Game 5 of the series. He held Somerset to five hits and four runs over eight-plus innings in Game 5 and was named the Championship Series MVP. Brownell’s five career postseason wins are tied for the most in league history.

Brownell was a pitcher who enjoyed finishing what he started. He led the ALPB in complete games for four consecutive years from 2013 through 2016 and is the league’s all-time leader with 24. His 67 career wins are the third-most in league history while his 770 strikeouts rank second. Brownell is third in the record book with 1,025.2 career innings pitched while co-holding the career shutout record with five.

“I give a lot of the credit to my teammates and coaches,” said Brownell. “I learned a lot from them on how to pitch and how to improve my craft. The Atlantic League is such a great league, and so many great players have come through there. I am very thankful and grateful for this honor.”

Brownell earned Postseason All-Star status in 2015 and was elected to the 2017 All-Star Game. He ended his ALPB career in 2019 with the High Point Rockers, making three regular season starts and one postseason start. Brownell finished his Atlantic League career with a 67-51 record and 3.68 ERA.

Prior to his time in the Atlantic League, Brownell spent one year in the Philadelphia Phillies organization after being drafted out of the University of Oklahoma. He then pitched five seasons in the Frontier and Northern Leagues and the American Association.

Brownell lives in Omaha, Neb. with his wife, Christina, and two sons, Manny and Elijah.

The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is celebrating its 25^th Anniversary in 2023 and has selected elite former players to comprise the official ALPB Silver Anniversary team. A total of 25 players have been selected to commemorate the league’s first quarter century. The list of honorees is comprised of former Players of the Year, Pitchers of the Year, League Championship MVPs, All-Stars and record holders, the most talented players to ever grace an Atlantic League ballpark.

Over the course of the next few weeks, the 25th Anniversary Team will be revealed one at a time on the ALPB website and social media channels as well as the same platforms of each Atlantic League club. Please visit each week to see which fan favorite players made the all-time greats roster.

Atlantic League Silver Anniversary Team Members
LHP Mike Guilfoyle
RHP Tim Cain
OF Glenn Murray
3B Jeff Nettles
RHP Lincoln Mikkelsen
UTIL/DH Ray Navarrete
RHP Jim Ed Warden
1B Josh Pressley
C Francisco Morales
C Luis Rodriguez
SS Victor Rodriguez
RHP John Brownell

About the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB)

Rockers bring back more returners

March 16, 2023 by Steve Shutt

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point Rockers on Thursday announced the return of three key players from the 2022 club that won the Atlantic League South Division championship. Catcher Mike Gulino, lefthanded reliever Gabriel Castellanos and righthanded starter Ivan Pineyro are each under contract for the 2023 season.

The Rockers reached the Atlantic League Championship Series last year after taking the South Division title series from Gastonia in five games.

Gulino, a catcher, will be back for his third season with the Rockers after joining the club in June 2021. He split the catching duties in 2022 and hit .221 in 71 games while adding two home runs and 24 RBI. Gulino posted a sterling .990 fielding percentage, committing just five errors in nearly 500 chances.

The lefthanded Castellanos signed with the Rockers in July 2022 after having been out of professional baseball for three seasons. He had played in the Miami Marlins’ farm system including a stint in Greensboro in 2015. Castellanos was a key lefthanded arm out of the Rockers’ bullpen, appearing in 18 games and recording a 2.57 ERA.

Pineyro joined the Rockers’ starting rotation in June and won five games, tied for the second-most among starters. He was 5-3 on the year with a 3.76 ERA with 58 strikeouts in 67 innings pitched. Pineyro won two of his first three starts and posted a pair of wins each over Southern Maryland and Charleston.

“All three of these guys played a key role for us last year,” said Rockers manager Jamie Keefe. “Mike has a lot of experience in our system and is great with our pitchers. Gabriel gave us a solid lefthanded option out of the bullpen and was successful in getting us out of a lot of jams. Ivan was a strong addition to our starting rotation, and we expect him to return to that role again this year.”

The Rockers will open the 2023 season at home on April 28 with the Long Island Ducks. High Point will play its first 10 games at Truist Point through May 8. Individual game tickets will go on sale starting March 31.

About High Point Baseball, Inc.

About the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB)

Rockers add three newcomers to roster

March 14, 2023 by Steve Shutt

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point Rockers on Tuesday announced the signing of three newcomers for the 2023 season. Catcher Tyler Blaum and pitcher Courtney Mack each played in the Atlantic League in 2022 while outfielder John Daly will make his ALPB debut.

Mack, 30, will begin his second year of professional baseball after playing with three Atlantic League teams in 2022. He debuted with Kentucky in July and made one start, going five innings and allowing just one hit in a win over Lexington. After being released, he signed with Charleston and made five appearances, all out of the bullpen. He then finished the season with York, posting a 2-1 record in eight games including six starts with one of those wins coming against the Rockers on Sept. 18. For his first season in professional baseball, Mack was 3-2 with a 6.56 ERA in 15 appearances.

“Courtney is a very promising pitcher who showed what he can do when given the opportunity,” said Rockers manager Jamie Keefe. “He was out of baseball for a couple of years but he continues to work hard and is progressing every day.”

Blaum, 24, will be a strong defensive addition to the Rockers. While playing collegiately at Virginia-Wise, Blaum became the first player in school history to be awarded a Rawlings Gold Glove after playing error-free baseball in 2021. He threw out 11 of 24 base-stealers and was named the top defensive catcher in the South Atlantic Conference. He broke into the Atlantic League in 2022 with the Charleston Dirty Birds, hitting .239 with a pair of home runs and 21 RBI in 83 games. Following his college career, Blaum joined the United Shore League in 2021 before moving to Joliet, Ill. in the Frontier League.

“Tyler will really solidify our defensive behind the plate,” said Keefe. “He has proven he is an outstanding catcher and that will be his primary duty, to provide great defense and work in sync with our pitching staff.”

Daly, 24, is an outfielder who played at the State University of New York at Albany, compiling a .297 average with five home runs and 32 RBI as a senior in 2022. Before joining the Great Danes, Daly was a third team All-American at Rockland Community College, posting a career .395 batting average with 18 doubles and eight home runs. In 2023, Daly hit .353 in 16 games with Bakersfield in the Pecos League.

“John really surprised us during a showcase event over the winter,” said Keefe. “He can run and is a former football player so he brings a certain level of grit to the game. He will run through the outfield wall for you and will be a big help defensively.”

About High Point Baseball, Inc.

About the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB)