HIGH POINT, N.C. – The Long Island Ducks scored three runs in the top of the 11th inning to take a 10-7 decision from the High Point Rockers on Saturday night at Truist Point.
Tied at 7-7 after nine innings, the Rockers held the Ducks scoreless in the top of the tenth then loaded the bases with one out in the bottom half but were unable to push across the deciding run.
In the top of the 11th, the Ducks scored three runs on a pair of walks and a dropped fly ball along with Troy Viola’s RBI single. The Rockers were unable to answer in the bottom of the 11th.
The game started as a recreation of home run derby. Long Island’s Leobaldo Cabrera hit a two-run homer in the top of the first to give the Ducks the early lead. The Rockers responded in the bottom of the first when Evan Edwards hit a three-run bomb for a 3-2 Rockers lead. Luis Gonzalez extended the High Point lead to 5-2 with a two-run blast in the bottom of the second.
Long Island knotted the game in the third with three runs off High Point starter Jonah Scolaro. Cody Thomas hit a sac fly and Viola and River Town contributed run-scoring singles.
Long Island went ahead 7-5 in the sixth on a two-run single by Kole Kaler. High Point forged a 7-7 tie in the bottom of the seventh on a two-run double by Luke Napleton.
Cam Cotter (L, 0-2) pitched the final two innings for the Rockers and allowed three runs, all unearned while walking two and striking out one. Long Island’s Ramon Santos (W, 4-0) held the Rockers to one hit over his two innings of work while fanning three. Braydon Nelson (S, 6) put the Rockers down in order in the 11th for the save.
The Rockers record falls to 69-77 on the season and 28-25 in the second half. Long Island is now 67-49 overall and 32-21 in the second half.
The Rockers remain three games behind Gastonia (31-22) with 10 games left to play in the regular season. High Point, by virtue of its first half South Division championship, has already secured its berth in the Atlantic League postseason.
The final game of the series is slated for a 4:05 p.m. first pitch on Sunday at Truist Point. The Rockers will send lefty Ben Wereski (2-4, 4.61) to the mound to face Long Island’s Tim Melville (5+4, 5.12). Rocker fans can catch all the action on FLOBASEBALL.TV and on the MixLR app. The Rockers will distribute 2025 team photos to fans coming through the gates and players will be available for autographs. The gates will open early on Sunday at 3 p.m.
NOTES: The start of the game was delayed 1:25 due to storms in the area . . . The Rockers had not walked a batter since the fourth inning of Tuesday’s game vs. Southern Maryland , , , The streak ended at 34 consecutive innings when Jonah Scolaro walked Kole Kaler in the third inning . . . The loss snapped High Point’s 10-game winning streak over the Ducks that dated back to a 3-1 Long Island win at Truist Point on June 6, 2024 . . . High Point and York are tied for the best overall record in the ALPB at 69-47.
