HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point Rockers rallied late but came up short in a 8-4 loss to the Charleston Dirty Birds in front of 2,721 fans on Education Day at Truist Point. High Point’s Luke Napleton blasted his league-leading 40th home run of the year in the eighth inning.
The Rockers were down 8-1 after the seventh inning but scored twice in the eighth and once in the ninth with the tying run in the on-deck circle.
The loss drops the Rockers to 25-34 in the second half and 54-68 on the year. Charleston is now 25-34 and 48-74.
High Point starter Matt Colucci (L, 4-8) allowed a first inning run and another in the fourth. The Rockers tallied a run in the fourth on an RBI double from Mikey Kane to pull to within 2-1. But Charleston scored four runs in the sixth on two hits and five walks to surge ahead 6-1. The Birds added two more in the seventh on an RBI double from Jalen Smith and a sac fly by Donald Moorer.
In the eighth, Ethan Skender drew a walk and scored on Napleton’s 40th home run of the season, making it an 8-3 game. Skender singled home a run in the ninth to make it 8-4 and account for the final score.
Napleton already owns the club records with 40 homers and 109 RBI.
Charleston’s Francisco Mateo (W, 7-5) went five innings and held the Rockers to two hits while striking out six.
The third and final game of the series is slated for a 6:35 p.m. start on Thursday at Truist Point. Rocker fans can follow the action live on DugoutTV.org or the audio broadcast on the free app MixLR.
