LANCASTER, Pa. – Mike Devine won his first game in professional baseball since 2022, leading the High Point Rockers to a 9-3 over the Lancaster Stormers on Saturday night at Penn Medicine Park. Devine (W, 1-0) went six innings, allowing just five hits and a pair of walks while striking out two.

For Devine, 35, it marked his first victory on the mound since pitching for Veracruz in the Mexican League in 2022. The former VMI pitcher had last pitched in the Atlantic League with Southern Maryland in 2021. A freight broker in Tampa by day, Devine worked his way back to professional baseball earlier this month and was making his second start as a Rocker on Saturday.

The Rockers improved to 6-5 in the second half and continue to hold the Atlantic League’s top overall record at 47-27. The Rockers are a game behind Lexington in the South Division second half standings.

The Rockers never trailed after loading the bases with nobody out in the top of the first. Lancaster starter Noah Bremer (L, 4-2) then struck out Alex Dickerson and Ben Aklinski before walking Braxton Davidson to force in a run. D.J. Burt then singled to center to score Max Viera but the Stormers were able to throw Drew Mendoza out at the plate to limit the Rockers to a 2-0 lead.

Devine kept the Stormers hitless until Nick Ward hit a solo homer in the third to cut High Point’s lead to 2-1.

After Isaiah Mirabal singled to start the fifth inning, Aidan Brewer hit a two-run homer to left-center to put the Rockers up 4-1. Luis Gonzalez followed with a double into the right field corner and then scored on consecutive wild pitches by Bremer. Viera then drew a walk before Mendoza delivered a 404-foot homer to right to put High Point ahead 7-1.

Lancaster answered with two runs on three hits off Devine in the bottom of the fifth. Ward delivered a two-run double after Danny Amaral and Scott Kelly had singled.

Stevie Branche came out of the bullpen in the seventh followed by Zach Vennaro in the eighth as each kept the Stormers without another run.

The Rockers added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth. Gonzalez led off the inning with a solo homer, his 15^th of the year, to put High Point ahead 8-3. After Mendoza tripled, Dickerson doubled to right for a 9-3 Rockers advantage.

Jameson McGrane pitched the ninth and was aided by a pair of acrobatic leaping catches in the outfield by Gonzalez and Viera to keep Lancaster off the scoreboard.

With the series knotted at 1-1, the rubber match is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. at Penn Medicine Park. Rockers fans can catch the action on FLOBASEBALL.TV and on the MixLR app. High Point returns home to start a six-game home stand beginning on Tuesday at 6:35 against the Charleston Dirty Birds.

NOTES: The Rockers placed C Nolan Watson on the 7-day injured list after he suffered a leg injury while rounding first base on a base hit on Friday . . . High Point signed C Chris Brady who had been with the club during spring training.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – A pair of High Point Rockers have been named to the Atlantic League’s Mid-Season All-Star Team. Drew Mendoza earned recognition as the top third baseman in the league while Ben Aklinski was the top vote-getter among the league’s outfielders.

Aklinski has played all three outfield positions for the Rockers this season and is having another outstanding year, his fifth in the ALPB. Aklinski leads the league in runs scored with 58 while adding a .267 batting average, 15 homers and 40 RBI. He is a repeat All-Star having earned a spot on the 2022 ALPB All-Star squad. In addition, Aklinski was a member of the 2024 ALPB All-Defensive team and a 2023 Postseason All-Star. He is among the league’s all-time leaders with 115 career home runs and 550 all-time hits.

Mendoza earned his first All-Star selection as a Rocker though he was previously honored as a 2023 Postseason All-Star while playing with the York Revolution. Mendoza this season is hitting .311 with 12 homers and 51 RBI. He is fifth in the league in RBI and tied for second in walks with 40.

Aklinski is the first member of the Rockers to earn multiple All-Star selections.

High Point, the first half champion of the South Division of the ALPB, will play the final game of its three-game series with the York Revolution Thursday night at 6:35 p.m. at Truist Point.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Two of the High Point Rockers starting pitchers, Tommy Doyle and Matt Solter, have had their contracts purchased by teams in the Mexican League. Doyle will be joining Yucatan while Solter’s contract has been acquired by Tijuana.

The Leones de Yucatan (Yucatan Lions) are currently in sixth place in the 10-team South Division of the Mexican League. The Toros de Tijuana (Tijuana Bulls) are in the North Division and reside in sixth place.

Doyle and Solter bring to nine the number of Rockers who have had their contracts acquired by a Major League team or foreign league in 2025. Since 2019, 48 Rockers players have advanced to MLB or another professional league.

“Matt and Tommy were very essential in us winning the first half championship,” said Rockers manager Jamie Keefe. “And this is the very reason why the Rockers and this league exist, to give players an opportunity to showcase their talents and advance their career. We’re happy for both of them and know they’ll be successful.”

Doyle joined the Rockers at the end of spring training and became the team’s closer early on, earning five saves. He transitioned into a role in the starting rotation in June and made four starts. For the season, Doyle was 1-3 with a 4.02 ERA and five saves.

Solter was a fixture in the Rockers starting rotation, making a team-high 10 starts and posting a 7-2 record with a 3.50 ERA. Solter set the club record with three complete games this season and tossed a pair of shutouts. He threw a complete game one-hitter in a 3-0 win at Gastonia on April 28 and added a nine-inning complete game two-hitter over Lexington on May 17.

The Rockers won the Atlantic League’s South Division first half championship and are now guaranteed a berth in the postseason playoffs. High Point tied the club record with 41 first half wins and will entertain North Division champion York in a three-game series at Truist Point starting tonight.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – High Point Rockers outfielder Jordan Luplow has had his contract acquired by the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos of the Mexican Baseball League.

Luplow joined the Rockers on May 11 but was inactive from May 23 until June 24. After rejoining the club, Luplow enjoyed his greatest moment as a Rocker on June 27, capping a six-run ninth inning rally with a walk-off three run homer to defeat Lancaster 7-4 at Truist Point. The win cut High Point’s magic number to one before winning the Atlantic League’s South Division first half championship.

Despite playing in just 14 games for High Point, Luplow, 31, hit .255 with four homers and 13 RBI while drawing eight walks and scoring nine runs. He spent part of seven seasons in Major League baseball, primarily with Pittsburgh and Cleveland, before joining the Rockers.

Luplow will report to Dos Laredos in the coming days. Dos Laredos (translation: two Laredos) is a binational team that splits its home games between Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas and Laredo, Texas. The Tecoletes (Owls) are the only Mexican League team to play outside of Mexico.

Luplow is the seventh Rocker to have their contract purchased this season and the 46^th in club history.

The Rockers play game two of their home series with Gastonia tonight at 6:35 p.m. at Truist Point.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Left-hander Kent Emanual, a starting pitcher for the High Point Rockers, has had his contract purchased by los Diablos Rojos (Mexico City) of the Mexican Baseball League. Los Diablos Rojos are currently in first place in the South Conference of the Mexican Baseball League.

Emanuel, a former ACC Pitcher of the Year while at North Carolina, went 6-1 with a 3.41 ERA for the Rockers and was instrumental in High Point winning the Atlantic League’s South Division first half championship.

Emanual made 10 starts for the Rockers and threw 58 innings while striking out 48 and allowing just 14 walks. He had two wins each against Lexington and Charleston along with victories over Hagerstown and Long Island.

Emanuel becomes the fifth Rocker to have their contract purchased this season and the 44^th in team history.

The Rockers are 38-18 and are preparing to host the Gastonia Ghost Peppers in a three-game series at Truist Point beginning on Tuesday, July 1. First pitch is slated for 6:35 p.m. Thursday’s July 3 game will feature the Rockers’ biggest postgame fireworks show of the year.

Tickets for all Rockers games are on sale at HighPointRockers.com.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point Rockers will host their annual Independence Day fireworks show at Truist Point on Thursday, July 3 following the conclusion of the Rockers home game with the Gastonia Ghost Peppers. Game time for the contest is slated for 6:35 p.m.

The Rockers feature their biggest fireworks show of the year around Independence Day and fans can watch all the fireworks from the field at Truist Point. Last year, the Rockers sold all available seats and drew a season-best crowd of 4,049 on July 4.

Tickets for the Rockers July 3 contest start at $8 for bleacher seats but fans can take advantage of a special ticket offer of four standard box seat tickets for just $28 by purchasing through the website at HighPointRockers.com. Use the promo code PLAYBALL for the discount.

The Rockers are currently in first place in the Atlantic League’s South Division and have a magic number of 5 to clinch the division’s first half championship.