HIGH POINT, N.C. – High Point Rockers starting pitcher Justin Nicolino had his contract purchased by the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday. Nicolino will report to Cincinnati’s Class AAA club in Louisville, Ky.

Nicolino was High Point’s Opening Day starter and has made six starts this season, posting a 4-1 record with a 2.06 ERA. He won his first three starts against Lancaster (4/27), Long Island (5/3) and York (5/8) before suffering a loss at Long Island in a 1-0, fog-shortened six inning game. Nicolino won his most recent start against Lexington on May 19, striking out seven in 5.1 innings.

“We couldn’t be happier for Justin,” said High Point manager Jamie Keefe. “He has been absolutely dominant this season. He’s fully healthy for the first time in six or seven years and he has been such a valuable part of this team. We couldn’t ask for any more than what Justin provided our club.”

Nicolino ranks second in the Atlantic League with four wins, tied for first with one complete game, fifth in innings pitched (35), fourth in WHIP (0.91) and sixth in opponent’s batting average (.198).

Drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays out of high school in the second round of the 2010 draft, Nicolino made his Major League debut with the Miami Marlins on June 20, 2015. The Orlando, Fla. native has won 10 MLB games over three seasons with the Marlins from 2015-17.

Nicolino is the second Rocker this year to have his contract purchased by a Major League organization and the 18^th player in club history. Most recently, RHP Brady Lail was acquired by the Toronto Blue Jays on May 9.

About High Point Baseball, Inc.

High Point Baseball, AKA The High Point Rockers, will begin their third season in the Atlantic League in 2022 in a state-of-the-art, $36M downtown ballpark, Truist Point. High Point Baseball is part of the fastest growing family sport in America and is committed to providing superior customer service and quality, affordable family entertainment for the Triad of North Carolina. The Rockers have built a fun and competitive atmosphere in both High Point and the Atlantic League while playing in the 2019 Ballpark of the Year.

About the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB)

With teams throughout the Mid-Atlantic, the ALPB is a leader in baseball innovation and a player gateway to Major League Baseball. Through its exclusive partnership with MLB, the Atlantic League tests Major League Baseball rules and equipment initiatives. The Atlantic League has sent over 1,000 players to MLB organizations while drawing more than 44 million fans to its affordable, family-friendly ballparks throughout its 24-year history. For more information, please visit www.AtlanticLeague.com.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday purchased the contract of High Point Rockers righthanded pitcher Brady Lail. The Blue Jays are expected to assign Lail to their Class AA Eastern League team, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, who play in Manchester, N.H.

Lail made three starts for the Rockers and posted a 2-1 record with a 0.95 earned run average. His ERA is the second-lowest in the Atlantic League. Lail pitched 19 innings for the Rockers and struck out 19 while walking just two and holding opponents to 13 hits and a .183 batting average.

Lail, 28, is a native of South Jordan, Utah and has spent parts of three seasons in the Major Leagues. He broke in with the New York Yankees in 2019 and also made appearances with the Chicago White Sox in 2020 and the Seattle Mariners in 2020 and ‘21. Lail appeared in 11 MLB games before joining the Rockers prior to spring training in April.

As a Rocker Lail started against the Kentucky Genomes on April 23 and allowed five hits over six innings while striking out six in a 3-1 loss. He went seven innings and struck out nine in a 6-3 win over Charleston on April 29. In his final start, Lail threw six innings and scattered five hits in a 5-3 win over Long Island on May 5.

The Rockers are on the road at York on Monday and will return to Truist Point on Tuesday, May 10 when they will face the Charleston Dirty Birds at 6:35 p.m. at Truist Point.

“Honestly, I love it,” said Lail on playing in High Point. “I was a little skeptical (at first) but this environment, and (manager) Jamie (Keefe) and (pitching coach) Frank (Viola), I found the love of the game again. My career has kind of been up and down and it’s been really hard to find that again. And just meeting Frank and Jamie and knowing that they have our backs is really a breath of fresh air. There’s a reason I’ve played this game for so long and, honestly, I’m honored to be here.”

About High Point Baseball, Inc.

High Point Baseball, AKA The High Point Rockers, will begin their third season in the Atlantic League in 2022 in a state-of-the-art, $36M downtown ballpark, Truist Point. High Point Baseball is part of the fastest growing family sport in America and is committed to providing superior customer service and quality, affordable family entertainment for the Triad of North Carolina. The Rockers have built a fun and competitive atmosphere in both High Point and the Atlantic League while playing in the 2019 Ballpark of the Year.

 

About the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB)

With teams throughout the Mid-Atlantic, the ALPB is a leader in baseball innovation and a player gateway to Major League Baseball. Through its exclusive partnership with MLB, the Atlantic League tests Major League Baseball rules and equipment initiatives. The Atlantic League has sent over 1,000 players to MLB organizations while drawing more than 44 million fans to its affordable, family-friendly ballparks throughout its 24-year history. For more information, please visit www.AtlanticLeague.com.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – High Point Rockers pitcher Brady Lail on Wednesday was named the Atlantic League Pitcher of the Month for April. Lail is the third Rockers’ pitcher to receive the monthly honor, joining Cooper Casad (July 2021) and Tommy Lawrence (August 2021).

Lail, 28, made two starts for the Rockers in April, posting a 1-1 record with a 0.69 ERA. On April 23, Lail tossed six innings vs. Kentucky, striking out six and allowing just one walk in losing a 3-1 decision. On April 29, Lail threw seven innings and scattered three hits while striking out nine in a 6-3 win over Charleston.

For the month of April, the South Jordan, Utah native struck out 15 batters in 13 innings while allowing just eight hits and one walk and posting the league’s second-lowest ERA at 0.69.

Lail spent parts of three seasons in the Major League with the Yankees, White Sox and Mariners between 2019 and 2021. He has twice struck out more than 100 batters in a season while winning 52 career professional games.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Six Kentucky pitchers held High Point to just three hits on Friday night as the Genomes took a 2-1 victory from the Rockers in 10 innings in front of 2,324 fans at Truist Point.

The Genomes did not allow a High Point hit after the second inning until there were two outs in the ninth.

Quincy Latimore staked the Rockers to a 1-0 lead with a two-out solo homer to left off Genomes starter Elih Villanueva in the second.

Kentucky tied the game at 1-1 in the sixth when Riley Mahan hammered a line drive homer over the right field fence off High Point starter Cooper Casad.

Villanueva threw five innings, yielded just two hits, walked one and struck out five before leaving for Josh Martin before the top of the sixth.  Villanueva retired the last seven hitters he faced. Casad went six innings and did not issue a walk while giving up five hits and striking out six. The only run he allowed was Mahan’s sixth inning homer.

The game remained deadlocked as each team’s bullpen locked down the other’s offense. Neither team was able to get a runner to second base over the seventh, eighth and ninth innings.

With two outs in the ninth, Michael Russell singled softly to center, marking the Rockers’ first base hit since Latimore’s homer in the second.

In the tenth, with Cleuluis Rondon starting the inning at second, Luke Becker’s sacrifice bunt moved him to third. Chase Vallot smashed a one-hopper at third baseman Zander Wiel who tried to tag Rondon but was ruled to have missed. Andrew Keefer singled to right to bring home Rondon with the go-ahead run.

The Rockers went down in order against Jack Weinberger in the 10th as he earned the save.

Besides Latimore’s homer in the second and Russell’s single in the ninth, High Point’s only other hit came in the first when Russell added a two-out single.

High Point’s Austin Glorius (1-1) took the loss while Kentucky’s Diego Moreno earned the win by pitching the ninth inning and allowing one hit while getting one strikeout. Glorius allowed two hits and recorded a pair of strikeouts in his lone inning of work.

The Rockers continue their homestand on Saturday night with the third of four games against the Genomes. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 at Truist Point.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point Rockers spoiled the debut of the Kentucky Wild Health Genomes, overcoming a 5-0 deficit in the sixth inning and rolling to a 10-5 win on Thursday night in front of an Opening Night crowd of 2,591 at Truist Point.

The Rockers closed the game in remarkable fashion as four Rocker pitchers struck out the final 10 Genome hitters of the game. High Point pitchers mapped the code, striking out a total of 16 Genomes on the night while walking just two.

“To score six runs with two outs (in the sixth inning) was pretty good,” said Rockers manager Jamie Keefe. When asked if he had ever seen a team end a game by striking out 10 straight opponents, he replied “Never. The back end of the bullpen threw the ball really well. If they keep that up, there are some teams that will have some long nights.”

Austin Glorius earned the win, facing just one batter, Carson McCurdy, and striking him out to end the sixth. That whiff started the Rockers’ K train and was the first of 10 straight strikeouts. Lefty Bryce Hensley fanned all three hitters he faced in the seventh, lefty Adam Choplick did the same in the eighth and closer Jonathon Crawford recorded three more consecutive strikeouts in the ninth to finish the game.

The Genomes got on the board first when catcher Chase Vallot sent a Justin Nicolino offering over the left field fence with Cleuluis Rondon aboard for a 2-0 lead.

Kentucky starter Dustin Beggs quieted the Rockers bats through five, allowing just two hits while striking out six and not allowing a walk. Nicolino was nearly as good, allowing just three hits through 4.2 innings while walking one and striking out six. But Nicolino made two bad pitches: the home run to Vallot and a one out triple in the fifth to Demetrius Moorer who would score on a Riley Mahan single to increase Kentucky’s lead to 3-0. The Genomes extended the lead with two more runs in the top of the sixth, using a sacrifice fly from Luke Becker and an RBI double from Vallot to go up 5-0.

The Rockers blew up for six ruins in the bottom of the sixth, all with two outs, while stringing together three hits and capitalized on a pair of errors on Becker, the Genomes third baseman. With one out, Logan Morrison and Jerry Downs drew consecutive walks off reliever Robby Scott. A Tyler Ladendorf single loaded the bases before Scott fanned Quincy Latimore for the second out of the inning. High Point’s Mike Gulino greeted Genomes reliever Jack Weinberger with a slow chopper to third that Becker fielded cleanly but threw wide of first, allowing Morrison and Downs to score and Gulino to move to third. Weinberger then hit Ben Aklinski with a pitch to put runners on the corners. Johnny Field slapped a ground ball to Becker who again threw the ball in the dirt, allowing Gulino and Aklinski to score and give the Rockers their first lead of the night at 6-5.

High Point added four more runs in the seventh. Ladendorf laced a one-out single and Latimore followed with a run-scoring double. Gulino then blooped a single to center to plate Latimore before Aklinski drilled a two-run homer to right to lift the Rockers to a 10-5 advantage.

On the night, the Rockers were led by Gulino with three hits while Zander Wiel had a pair of RBI and Aklinski finished with two hits and two RBI. The bottom third of High Point’s order, Wiel, Gulino and Aklinski, went six-for-11 and drove in five runs.

The Rockers continue on their 13-game season-opening homestand as they host Kentucky again on Friday at 6:35 p.m. at Truist Point. Fans will be entertained with a postgame fireworks show.