STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Shortstop Ryan Grotjohn went six-for-seven and Zander Wiel hit a tie-breaking home run to help the High Point Rockers sweep a doubleheader from Staten Island on Wednesday, winning 4-3 in the opener and 4-2 in the nightcap.
Along with his six hits, Grotjohn scored three runs and added an RBI.
Wiel slammed a solo homer in the top of the seventh inning of the opening game to lead the Rockers to a 4-3 win.
In the opener, the Rockers took a1-0 lead in the second when Grotjohn singled, stole second and scored on a single by D.J. Burt. The ‘Hawks tied the game in the bottom of the second with a solo homer from Abiatal Avelino.
Back-to-back doubles from Ben Aklinski and Colin Moran leading off the top of the third gave the Rockers a 2-1 lead. Staten Island forged ahead 3-2 in the fourth on a single by Joe Dunand and a two-run homer from Luis Castro.
Grotjohn led off the sixth with a double to center and scored on a single by Burt to knot the game at 3-3.
Jonah Scolaro went five innings for the Rockers , scattering five hits. David McKay (W, 3-0) pitched a scoreless sixth inning to earn the victory with Jameson McGrane earning his seventh save.
In the nightcap, the Rockers scored all four runs in the fourth inning. Singles by Clayton Mehlbauer and Burt put two men on before Martin Figueroa singled to score Mehlbauer with Burt caught trying to move from first to third. Grotjohn followed with a triple to right that scored Figueroa for a 2-0 lead. Aklinski’s sac fly to right delivered Grotjohn to the plate and a 3-0 advantage. Colin Moran then homered to dead center field, his sixth of the year, for a 4-0 High Point advantage.
A Ben Norman homer in the sixth pulled the FerryHawks to within three at 4-1. Norman singled home another run in the seventh to make it a 4-2 game.
Ryan Weiss (W, 3-4) tossed six strong innings for the Rockers, allowing just four hits while striking out eight. Garrett Schilling (S, 1) earned his first save of the year by pitching the seventh inning.
The Rockers are three games back of South Division-leading Gastonia. High Point is 27-16 and has won four straight games while Gastonia is 30-13 and has won eight straight games.
The third and final game of the series with the FerryHawks is slated for a 6:30 p.m. start at SIUH Community Park on Thursday.
