Rockers stay hot against Dirty Birds 5/3/23
HIGH POINT, NC – The High Point Rockers continued their blistering hot start to the season, posting 11 runs behind 13 hits as they cruised to a second consecutive win by an 11-1 final. Starter Brandon Leibrandt was spectacular over four scoreless frames, while the bullpen held serve yet again allowing just a single run the rest of the way.
High Point got the scoring started in the second inning after a pair of singles set the table for Dai-Kang Yoh who promptly lifted a sacrifice fly to bring home the game’s first run and make it 1-0. Two batters later it was DJ Burt who joined in on the action, sending a liner into the outfield that scored another pair of runs and stretched the lead to 3-0.
In the bottom of the third, Shed Long Jr. provided more padding to the lead, belting his first homer of the season to deep right field and that inched the High Point edge to 4-0. One inning later, the Rockers continued to pour it on, sending eight batters to the plate. Ryan Grotjohn walked to lead off the inning and Burt immediately brought him around on a wall-ball double to make the game 5-0. Michael Russell was next to stand in, who laced a single to right-center that brought Burt around to the dish.
Charleston posted their lone run in the top of the fifth on a Dwight Smith Jr. RBI groundout. In their next at-bat in the bottom of the inning, High Point once again unleashed an offensive onslaught, tallying four runs thanks to a Grotjohn RBI triple, while Long Jr. and John Nogowski ripped back-to-back RBI doubles. All told, the Rockers led 10-1 after five innings of play.
The Rockers capped off the scoring in the sixth inning with Michael Russell’s second RBI knock of the night, which was provided by a trio of walks that prolonged the inning. In all, High Point flashed an abundance of patience, equaling a season-high mark, drawing nine walks for a second consecutive evening.
The bullpen carried the ballgame to the finish line, turning in five innings of one-run baseball, closing out an 11-1 victory. The Rockers have now outscored the Dirty Birds 27-1 in the series, and are eyeing their first sweep of the campaign tomorrow night at Truist Point, with first pitch slated for 6:35 p.m. ET.