WALDORF, Md. – The High Point Rockers hit five home runs and held Southern Maryland to just five hits in an 11-5 win Friday night at Regency Furniture Stadium.
Tyler Ladendorf hit two home runs and drove in four in leading the Rockers’ offense. High Point starter Ivan Pineyro (W, 4-1) went 6.1 innings, held Southern Maryland to three runs on three hits while walking three and striking out four.
High Point began the scoring in the second inning when Blue Crabs starter Mitch Lambson hit Quincy Latimore with a pitch to start the frame. Latimore moved to second on an infield single by Jay Gonzalez and scored on a single by Giovanny Alfonzo for the Rockers’ first run. A wild pitch by Lambson moved Gonzalez and Alfonzo to second and third before Gonzalez scored on a groundout by Dakota Mulcay.
The Rockers extended their lead to 5-0 with a three-run third. Ben Aklinski started the inning with a solo homer and was followed by a double off the bat of Jerry Downs. Downs moved to third on another Lambson wild pitch before Gonzalez hit a two-run homer, his third of the year.
Ladendorf led off the fourth inning with a solo homer to give the Rockers a 6-0 lead. The Blue Crabs scored their first run of the night in the fourth on a Michael Wielansky double and a pair of infield groundouts.
Zander Wiel’s solo homer in the fifth, his 25th homer of the year, provided the Rockers a 7-1 lead. That lead ballooned to an 8-1 advantage in the sixth when Mulcay walked, moved to second on a single by Michael Russell then scored on an Aklinski double.
Southern Maryland chased Pineyro in the seventh. The Blue Crabs scored four times in the seventh to pull within 8-5. Michael Baca and Jack Sundberg each delivered two-run singles in the inning.
Ladendorf’s second homer of the night, a three-run shot in the ninth scoring Wiel and Alfonzo who had each singled, put High Point up 11-5.
High Point is now 45-42 overall and 6-15 in the second half of the Atlantic League season.
High Point and Southern Maryland will meet in the second game of the three-game series on Saturday at 6:35 p.m. at Regency Furniture Stadium.
