By: Camden Connolly 

HIGH POINT, NC- For the second night in a row, the High Point Rockers Ben Aklinski launched a grand slam to lead the Rockers to an 8-1 win against the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars on Saturday night at Truist Point.

High Point starter Kyle Barraclough (W, 4-0)  allowed only two hits over seven innings while striking out seven to help secure the win for the Rockers.

With the win, the Rockers continue to lead the Atlantic League’s South Division at 24-8 and hold a 6.5 game lead over second place Southern Maryland. The loss drops the Boxcars to 6-26.

Drew Mendoza started the scoring in the second inning when he led off with a walk from Boxcars starter David Richardson (L,1-5), and Max Viera beat out an infield single to put two men aboard. The Rockers Jack Conley doubled to drive in Mendoza before Cody Wilson slammed a two-run single to center field to plate both Conley and Viera, putting High Point ahead 3-0.

High Point did not stop there, with a double from Mendoza in the third. Viera plated him home with a single to center to keep the Rockers in the lead at 4-0.

Just like in the first game of this series, Akliniski put High Point in an even more comfortable position with the eleventh grand slam of his career.

The Boxcars saw their opportunity to score off High Point reliever Zach Verano in the eighth inning, when bases were loaded and Joe Delcua singled him home. This put the Boxcars on the board for a final score of 8-1.

The Rockers will look for the sweep in the concluding game of the series Sunday at 4:05 pm  Expect to see many glass slippers and shields in the stands, as everyone is encouraged to dress up for the Rockers Princess and Superhero Day Sunday afternoon.

NOTES: Ben Aklinski is one stolen base away from becoming just the third player in Atlantic League history to collect 100 homers and 100 stolen bases in a career . . . Aklinski has 111 career homers in his five years in the league and has 99 stolen bases.

By: Camden Connolly

Fighting to continue making history, the High Point Rockers look to collect their 11th straight series win against the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars starting Friday, May 30 to Sunday, June 1 at Truist Point.

The Rockers lead the Atlantic League’s South Division at 22-8 after two of three games from the Charleston Dirty Birds in Charleston. The Flying Boxcars just wrapped up their series with the York Revolution with a 6-24 record and they have lost their last three contests.

This will be the Flying Boxcars’ first appearance at Truist Point as they hosted the Rockers last year in Hagerstown. Shane Turner will be on the road with the Boxcars for the first time after replacing manager Mark Mason on Sunday, May 25.

High Point’s Evan Edwards had his contract purchased by the Los Angeles Angels late Thursday night. Edwards was having a historic season, leading the league in batting average (.375), home runs (13) and RBI (43). Now the Rockers will turn to their quartet of .300 hitters in D.J. Burt (.319), Jack Conley (.313), Max Viera (.313) and Ben Aklinski (.304).

The Rocker’s Ben Aklinski is trying to become the third player in Atlantic League history with over 100 homers and 100 stolen bases in their career. He currently has 110 homers and 98 stolen bases.

Hagerstown’s offensive leader is Gary Mattis at .343 while Osvaldo Abreu leads the team with seven home runs while Erroll Robinson and Abreu each have a team-high 15 RBI.

The Rockers will be sending RHP Erich Uelmen to the mound Friday night. Uelmen has won his past two games and ranks sixth in the league with a 2.84 ERA. Hagerstown will be starting the series with RHP Daniel Corcino (1-4, 11.63).

The first game of the series will start at 6:35 pm on Friday, May 30, with a firework show after the game. Game two is set for 6:35 pm on Saturday, May 31, and the series finale will start at 4:05 pm on Sunday, June 1.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point Rockers’ first baseman Evan Edwards, the Atlantic League leader in batting average, home runs and RBI, has had his contract purchased by the Los Angeles Angels. Edwards, 27, will report to the Angels in the coming days.

The former NC State and Southern Guilford High slugger leads the Atlantic League with 13 home runs, 43 RBI and a .375 batting average. Edwards is riding a 15-game hitting streak which ties for the longest in club history.

A fourth round draft pick of the Marlins in 2019 out of NC State, Edwards spent one year in the Miami organization and three season in the Tampa Bay farm system. He joined the Rockers prior to the 2024 campaign and hit .272 with 22 home runs and 70 RBI.

A former All-Mid-Piedmont 3-A selection at Southern Guilford High School, Edwards was one of just two players to start every game for NC State in 2019. He was among the Wolfpack’s top hitters with a .330 batting average, 14 homers and 60 RBI over 61 games and had a 35-game on-base streak.

Edwards is the fourth Rocker to have their contract purchased by an MLB organization this year and the 43^rd player over the Rockers six-year history. Since the start of spring training, RHP Peter Solomon is now in the Cubs organization, C Luke Napleton was selected by the Twins and LHP Jacob Edwards is in the Reds farm system.

The Rockers are 21-8 and own the Atlantic League’s top over all record while holding a five-game lead over Southern Maryland in the South Division pennant race. High Point concludes a series at Charleston on Thursday night and returns home Friday to face the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars at 6:35 p.m. at Truist Point.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Left-handed pitcher Jacob Edwards, one of the mainstays of the High Point Rockers bullpen, has had his contract purchased by the Cincinnati Reds. He will report to the Reds spring training facility in Goodyear, Arizona immediately.

“They don’t make a better person than Jacob,” said Rockers manager Jamie Keefe. “He’s one of a kind. I haven’t met many people who work as hard on and off the field at his pitching craft. It’s nice to see that his hard work has paid off and he’s getting another opportunity.”

Edwards, 24, made the Rockers’ Opening Day roster in 2024 and tied for the team lead with seven wins. He appeared in 42 games in 2024 and struck out 63 with just 19 walks in his 69.1 innings of work.

This season, Edwards is 2-1 in 11.2 innings of work with four walks and 11 strikeouts while yielding just seven hits.

Edwards attended Southwest Guilford High School where he shattered the school single season strikeout record with 132 and set a mark for wins with 12. He also hit .494 and was named the conference Pitcher of the Year while also earning all-state and all-area honors.

At UNC Asheville, Edwards was a first team All-Big South selection, going 8-3 with a 2.24 ERA in 88.1 innings. He finished among UNC Asheville’s all-time top 10 in innings, wins and strikeouts.

Undrafted out of UNC Asheville, he was with the Minnesota Twins organization in 2022 before joining the Rockers in 2024.

Edwards becomes the second pitcher to have his contract acquired by an MLB organization this year, joining RHP Peter Solomon who went to the Chicago Cubs. Now in its sixth year, High Point has had 41 player contracts transferred to MLB clubs or foreign leagues.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The High Point Rockers unleased their most furious offensive attack of the season on Thursday night, posting an 18-8 win over Lexington at Legends Field.

The Rockers scored a season-high 18 runs, pounded out 17 hits and hit three home runs.

DH Nick Longhi and right fielder Ben Aklinski accounted for nine RBI. Longhi was five-for-six with five RBIs while Aklinski drove in four runs and scored four times. Jordan Luplow added a three-run homer.

The Rockers now own the best record in the Atlantic League at 13-5 and own a one-game lead in the South Division over 12-6 Lexington.

Lexington tallied a solo run in the second when Xane Washington’s sac fly scored Brian Fuentes who had led off the inning with a single.

The Rockers posted their highest scoring inning of the season with eight runs in the third. D.J. Burt contributed a sac fly, Aklinkski, Drew Mendoza  and Longhi each had an RBI single, Aidan Brewer stole home and Luplow hit his first homer as a Rocker, a three-run shot, that put the Rockers up 8-1.

Lexington clawed back a pair of runs in the bottom of the third on an RBI single by Fuentes and an RBI infield ground out by Ryan McCarthy.

Longhi added another RBI single in the fourth as High Point’s lead grew to 9-3. Washington’s homer in the bottom half made it a 9-4 game.

Gonzalez singled in the fifth and scored on a Fuentes double to put Lexington within four at 9-5.

The Rockers tallied their 10^th run in the sixth when Luis Gonzalez singled, moved to second and then third on a pair wild pitches and scored on another Longhi single, his third RBI of the night.

High Point starter Kent Emanuel (W, 2-0) left after five innings, having allowed five runs on 10 hits, a walk and two strikeouts. Lexington’s Colton Eastman (L, 2-2) lasted 2.1 innings and yielded six runs on six hits with two walks and a pair of strikeouts.

High Point’s Kyle Halbohn allowed a run in the sixth inning on a single by Brady Whalen and an RBI double from Curtis Terry to make it 10-6.

Zach Vennaro came on in the seventh for the Rockers and gave up a solo homer to Ryan McCarthy as the Legends pulled within three at 10-7.

The Rockers added three more runs in the eighth when Aklinski walked and scored on a double by Evan Edwards. After Dalton Ross replaced Christian Edwards on the mound for Lexington, Longhi greeted him with a two-run shot to left, lifting the Rockers to a 13-7 lead. A five-run outburst in the ninth, featuring an RBI double from Brewer, a sack fly from Luis Gonzalez and a three-run homer from Aklinski sealed the win.

Lexington’s final run came in the bottom of the ninth off a wild pitch from Rockers reliever Jonah Scolaro.

High Point returns home to face the Legends in a three-game series starting Friday night at 6:35 p.m. at Truist Point. A fireworks show will be held following the game.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – High Point Rockers catcher Luke Napleton has had his contract transferred to the Minnesota Twins organization. The move happened on Friday, May 9.

Napleton had joined the Rockers at the start of the 2025 season and was hitting .571 (12-for-21) with two doubles, two homers and 10 RBI.

“Luke did a great job for us, he did a nice job behind the dish and was more than impressive at the plate,” said Rockers manager Jamie Keefe. “We knew when we traded for him that he probably wouldn’t be here long so we are glad he was a Rocker and we know he will be great in the Twins organization.”

Napleton played four years at Quincy College in Illinois and then spent the 2024 season at the University of Louisville where he hit .320 with 11 homers and 32 RBI. After playing with Lake Country in the American Association in 2024, Napleton joined the Rockers in April.

Napleton marks the second Rocker to move onto an MLB organization this season and the 41^st in High Point’s six-year history in the Atlantic League. RHP Peter Solomon was acquired by the Chicago Cubs during spring training.