High Point 14, Gastonia 12
GASTONIA, N.C. – The High Point Rockers may have led from start to finish but not without a season’s worth of drama in defeating Gastonia 14-12 on Wednesday night at CaroMont Health Park in Gastonia.
The Rockers had an 8-2 lead in the fourth that shrank to a 10-9 advantage after six innings. And after going to the bottom of the ninth leading 14-9, Gastonia rallied to score three times before the Rockers recorded the final out on the warning track.
With the Rockers leading 10-9 in the ninth, singles by Evan Edwards and Colin Moran and a walk to Ben Aklinski loaded the bases for Zander Wiel who then deposited Cory Thompson’s pitch over the wall for a grand slam and a 14-9 High Point lead.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth and closer Jameson McGrane on the mound for the Rockers, Gastonia used a ground rule double by Dean Miller and a single by Hidekel Gonzalez to set the table for a three-run homer from Kevin Watson, Jr. that pulled Gastonia to within two at 14-12. After allowing a double to Joe Gray, Jr., McGrane was able to get Patrick Mazeika to fly out to Evan Edwards on the warning track in right to seal the win for High Point.
The win leaves the Rockers (34-21) trailing Gastonia (38-17) by four games with eight left to play. The two teams meet again on Thursday night in Gastonia then play a three-game set at Truist Point next week.
The Rockers opened the scoring in their first at-bat when Ben Aklinski doubled off the wall in left field and scored when Colin Moran lined a single down the right field line. Zander Wiel followed with a double to left that moved Moran to third. DH Jake Washer then hit a Texas Leaguer to right where it was bobbled by Eric De La Rosa as both Moran and Wiel scored and Washer took second. Brian Parreira then smacked a two-run homer to left to put High Point ahead 5-0.
Josh Stowers answered back with a solo homer for Gastonia in the bottom of the first, making it a 5-1 game. Watson, Jr.’s solo blast in the bottom of the third narrowed High Point’s lead to 5-2.
The Rockers added two more runs in the fourth to forge a 7-2 lead. A solo homer by Washer was followed by a triple by rookie Fritz Genther. D.J. Burt hit a Baltimore chop that cleared the head of third baseman Dean Miller and reached the outfield as Genther trotted home.
Gastonia’s Jake Gatewood singled in the bottom of the fourth, moved to third on a double by Josh Wylie then scored on an infield groundout by De La Rosa to make it an 8-3 game.
In the fifth inning, a double by Wiel and a single back through the box by Connor Owings increased High Point’s lead to 9-3.
Gastonia tagged High Point starter Neil Ramirez for four runs in the fifth including a three-run homer from Justin Wylie as Gastonia pulled to within two at 9-7.
The Rockers pushed the lead to 10-7 in the top of the sixth when Burt doubled and scored on a fielding error by Gastonia reliever Ian McKinney.
In the bottom of the sixth, Gastonia loaded the bases with one out off reliever Braeden Ogle (W, 1-0). After a walk to Joe Gray, Jr. forced in one run, a fly ball to Wiel in left led to a 7-5 double play and the Rockers escaped with a 10-9 lead.
The Rockers left a pair of runners on board in the top of the seventh and High Point reliever Zach Vennaro was able to pitch out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh to maintain High Point’s 10-9 lead.
Ryan Meisinger pitched around a single in the eighth as the Rockers maintained their 14-9 lead.
Lancaster 7, Staten Island 6
After a string of blowouts, both for and against, the Lancaster Stormers rallied from a 5-0 deficit on Wednesday night, scoring four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat the Staten Island FerryHawks, 7-6, Wednesday evening at Clipper Magazine Stadium.
It was Lancaster’s second walkoff win of the season and moved the club three games ahead of both Staten Island and Long Island in the race for second place in the North.
With the Stormers down, 6-3, Damon Dues battled J.P. Woodward (0-2) to an eighth pitch, grounding a single off the glove of shortstop Joe Dunand to start the rally. Jack Conley scalded a line drive off the right field wall. Kolby Johnson banged into the video board and stunned himself, allowing Conley to reach third before the FerryHawks could retrieve the loose ball. Kyle Kasser picked up a walk on a full count pitch and departed for pinch runner Jordan Howard. Shawon Dunston, Jr. snuck a single into center to cut the lead to 6-5 and send Howard to third with the tying run. Trace Loehr got a squeeze bunt down. Woodward’s throw to the plate sailed past catcher Matt Scheffler, allowing Dunston to take third and Loehr to go to second.
Robbie Baker entered to face Joseph Carpenter. The Lancaster first baseman hit a chopper on the right side. Second baseman Kyle Dernudde fired home, but the throw was late and off to the first base side as Dunston scored the winner.
Staten Island’s early lead was built on four homers off Stormers starter Matt Swarmer. Alejandro de Aza connected with one out in the first. Johnson led off the third with a shot to right center for a 2-0 lead, and Pablo Sandoval added a two-run blast later in the inning. A second homer by Johnson to virtually the same spot in the fourth inning extended the lead to 5-0.
Dues led off the fifth with a home run off Mike Shawaryn, and Justin Farmer singled home two in the sixth to narrow the gap.
Nile Ball fired three shutout innings to keep Lancaster in the game. Jackson Rees (2-0) was perfect in the top of the ninth to earn the win.
Lancaster will attempt to sweep the series on Thursday evening at 6:45. Fans may tune into Blue Ridge 11 or FloBaseball, starting at 6:40.
NOTES: Lancaster has won five straight against Staten Island, two by a one-run margin…Carpenter has both walkoff RBI for the Stormers this season…Dues has hit safely in seven games in a row, going 12-for-25…He has homered in back-to-back games after having only one in his previous professional career…Dunston has nine RBI in his last four games…Farmer has seven in the last three…Steffon Moore made his Lancaster debut in the eighth inning, allowing an unearned run.
York 13, Long Island 3
(June 26, 2024 – York, Pa.): A night after clinching the North Division first half title in dramatic fashion on Tuesday, the York Revolution showed no signs of slowing down, whooping up on the Long Island Ducks, 13-3 at WellSpan Park to win their eighth straight.
York opened the scoring just two batters into the night. After Matt McDermott led off with a single, Rudy Martin Jr homered to right field off of starter Wei-Yin Chen to strike an early 2-0 advantage. It was Martin Jr’s first start since Friday vs Lancaster.
In the second inning, the Revs put up their second six spot in as many nights. It started with four straight singles, the third of which was a run scoring knock by Michael Berglund. Donovan Casey and Colton Welker each added RBI doubles, and Trey Martin capped it off with a run scoring single. Chen was chased after just two innings with York leading 8-0.
Through his first four innings, Jon Olsen (6-0) had faced just one batter over the minimum. The first two reached against him in the fifth, but the righty finished his night retiring the final three hitters, capping five scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing just four hits.
Offensively, the first four reached again in the bottom of the fifth including a two run double from Berglund and another RBI double from McDermott which pushed the lead to 11-0.
Alex Valverde relieved Olsen in the sixth but was greeted by Manuel Geraldo launching a solo home run to right to put the Ducks on the board.
Casey took reliever Josh James deep to right for a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh, extending the Revolution lead to 12-1.
Valverde ran into a jam in the eighth inning and was relieved by Tom Sutera with the bases loaded and two outs. Tyler Dearden greeted Sutera with a two run single, cutting the Revs lead to 12-3. Sutera got Aaron Antonini to fly out to center field to avoid any further damage.
Welker put the icing on another big offensive night with a solo home run to center, leading off the eighth inning. York finished their night with 13 runs on 17 hits, including nine extra base hits.
Leading 13-3 in the ninth, York turned to Aaron Holliday who retired the side in order with a pair of strikeouts.
Zach Neff will take the mound against Stephen Woods Jr on Thursday, looking to cap off a perfect nine-game homestand at 6:30 p.m. It is Pride in the Park featuring a Game-Worn Pride Jersey Auction presented by JLS Automation. It is also a Hunger Free Thursday presented by Members 1st Federal Credit Union. Tickets are on sale at YorkRevolution.com, (717) 801-HITS, and in-person at the Shipley Energy Ticket Office.
Charleston 11, Lexington 6
Hagerstown 5, Southern Maryland 2
The Hagerstown Flying Boxcars emerged victorious over the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs with a 5-2 win at Meritus Park.
The Boxcars picked up right where they left off, with Andrew Moritz setting the tone, leading off with a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning, his second of the season.
Southern Maryland tied the game in the fourth inning with a solo shot from designated hitter Anthony Brocato, his 13th of the year.
In the fifth inning, the Flying Boxcars broke the game open with a three-run rally. Moritz, who had an outstanding night, singled and scored on a double by Cito Culver. With runners in scoring position, Jaylyn Williams tripled to bring home another run, followed by a sacrifice fly from Welington Dotel that extended the lead to 4-1.
The Blue Crabs managed to add another run in the sixth inning when Williams doubled to drive in Anthony Ray, making it 4-2. However, Hagerstown’s pitching staff shut down the Blue Crabs’ offense for the remainder of the game.
Michael Gorgas, starting for the Flying Boxcars, delivered a solid performance. Despite allowing six hits and four walks over 5.1 innings, he limited the Blue Crabs to just two runs and struck out four. The bullpen was stellar, with Andrew Katz, Ricardo Sanchez, and Alexis Cortorreal combining for 3.2 innings of hitless relief. Cortorreal earned his first save of the season, striking out one in a perfect ninth inning.
The Boxcars will look to complete the series sweep on Thursday night.