High Point 8, Gastonia 1
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point Rockers secured their place in the Atlantic League playoffs by winning the South Division’s first half championship on Friday night with an 8-1 win over the Gastonia Honey Hunters. The Rockers triumphed in front of 2,006 fans at Truist Point.

High Point broke a 1-1 tie in the seventh inning with a five-run outburst before adding two more runs in the eighth. The Rockers put up the five spot on an RBI triple by Ryan Grotjohn, a sac fly from Brian Parreira and run-scoring singles from Shed Long, Jr. and Zander Wiel.

A.J. Cole (W, 3-2) earned the win with 1.1 innings of relief behind starter Jheyson Manueta. Michael Russell, Zander Wiel, and Brian Parreira each drove in a pair of runs.

“Hats off to the guys, they’ve been grinding and it’s been a long ride,” said Rockers manager Jamie Keefe. “We thought we were down and out last night and then we walked into the dug out and (trainer) Joe Geck had a big smile on his face and said ‘we’ve got another breath.’”

The Rockers had faced elimination from the South Division title race on Thursday night when they were shutout 3-0 at Southern Maryland. But Gastonia’s loss at Spire City kkept the Rockers alive.

Both High Point and Gastonia finished the first half with identical 41-22 records. But the Rockers held a tiebreaker by having posted the top winning percentage among South Division opponents.

The Rockers took a 1-0 in the bottom of the third when Parreira sliced a double to left. Long, Jr. sent a ground ball to short that was misplayed by Gastonia’s Kevin Santa, allowing Long, Jr. to reach first and sending Parreira to third. Michael Russell then grounded through the hole at short to score Parreira and give the Rockers a 1-0 lead.

Braxton Davidson blasted a solo homer to right center with one out in the sixth to tie the game at 1-1.

High Point starter Jheyson Manzueta went 5.2 innings, exiting in favor of Cole in the sixth with the score tied at 1-1. Cole recorded the final out of the sixth and put the Honey Hunters down in order in the seventh.

Gastonia starter Ryan Conroy went six innings and yielded just four hits while walking one and striking out four. He left after six in favor of reliever David Richardson who walked Ben Aklinski leading off the seventh. Ryan Grotjohn tripled off the wall in right center, bringing Aklinski across the plate. Richardson then walked Daikan Yoh to put runners on the corner when Gastonia manager Goose Gozzo again went to the bullpen and brought in Bryan Blanton. The first batter he faced, Parreira, hit an 0-2 pitch to the deepest part of left field, resulting in a sac fly that easily scored Grotjohn and gave the Rockers a 3-1 lead. Yoh moved to second on a single by Long, Jr. before Michael Russell singled home Yoh for a 4-1 advantage. Zander Wiel’s single, the third consecutive hit of the inning, scored both Long, Jr. and Russell and left the Rockers with a 6-1 lead.

Lefty Sam Selman came on for the Rockers and walked a pair before leaving with two outs in the eighth. Cam Bedrosian struck out Luis Curbelo to end the threat.

In the bottom of the eighth, Nick Wells started the inning for Gastonia and allowed a single to Aklinski and an infield single to Grotjohn. Yoh then lined a shot up the middle that hit Wells in the chest and he walked himself to the dugout as the Honey Hunters turned to Gabe Klobosits. Parreira bounced a grounder on the right side for the second out of the inning but it allowed Aklinski to score for a 7-1 Rockers lead. A Martinez double into the left field corner plated Grotjohn to extend High Point’s advantage to 8-1.

Game two of the series will be played on Saturday at 6:35 p.m. at Truist Point. The game will feature a performance from Ed’s Dinosaurs. The contest will be streamed live on FLO Baseball and will also be available on the Mixlr app.

Long Island 4, Southern Maryland 1

(Waldorf, Md., July 7, 2023) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 4-1 on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series at Regency Furniture Stadium. With the win, the Ducks clinched the 2023 First Half North Division Championship and a berth in the Atlantic League playoffs.

The Ducks have earned their 16th Atlantic League playoff berth in franchise history, all coming in the past 19 seasons going back to 2004, and seventh postseason berth in the past eight seasons going back to 2015. It is also the eighth first half championship in team history and third in the past four seasons (2004, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2019, 2021).

The Ducks will begin their bid for a fifth Atlantic League championship following the conclusion of the 2023 regular season on September 17. Long Island has earned the right to select which games they will host during the North Division Championship Series, and that announcement will be made at a later date.

Tickets to all Long Island Ducks postseason games will go on sale at a later date. Stay tuned to LIDucks.com for further information regarding the playoff schedule and ticket on-sale date. Official First Half North Division Championship t-shirts will also be on sale at the Waddle In Shop in the coming days.

Friday’s game saw the Ducks strike first on Chance Sisco’s RBI double to right field in the fourth inning off Blue Crabs starter Tony Dibrell. The Blue Crabs answered back to tie the game at one in the bottom of the frame on Braxton Lee’s RBI single to center off Ducks starter Stephen Tarpley.

It stayed that way until the top of the ninth inning when Long Island plated three runs to take a 4-1 lead. A bases loaded walk by Joe DeCarlo, a sac fly to center by Brantley Bell and an RBI single to center by Tzu-Wei Lin put the Flock in front and gave them the first half title.

Tarpley did not factor into the decision but tossed six innings of one-run ball, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out eight. Al Alburquerque (3-0) earned the win, recording the game’s final six outs. Dibrell (0-1) suffered the loss, surrendering four runs on four hits and five walks over eight and two-thirds innings with five strikeouts.

The Ducks and Blue Crabs continue their three-game set on Saturday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. at Regency Furniture Stadium. Fans can follow all the action live on Flo Baseball by CLICKING HERE.

Long Island returns home on Tuesday, July 11, to begin another three-game set with Lancaster. Game time is slated for 6:35 p.m., with the Fairfield Properties Ballpark gates opening at 5:35 (5:20 for full season ticket holders). It’s a Triple Play Tuesday at the ballpark, and if the Ducks turn a triple play during the game, one lucky fan will win $25,000. Simply sign up prior to first pitch at the Ticket Kiosk on the main concourse to be eligible. Tickets for the game, and all Ducks games, are available by visiting the Fairfield Properties Ballpark box office, calling (631) 940-TIXX or CLICKING HERE.

The Long Island Ducks are members of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a Professional Partner League of Major League Baseball. Over 8.5 million fans have enjoyed the Ducks brand of affordable, fun entertainment at Fairfield Properties Ballpark since inception in 2000. For further information, visit LIDucks.com or call 631-940-DUCK (3825).

Staten Island 10, Charleston 6 (Game 1)
Staten Island 6, Charleston 3 (Game 2)

The Staten Island FerryHawks took both games of a doubleheader against the Charleston Dirty Birds on Friday. Game 1 ended 10-6 in favor of the FerryHawks, and game 2 ended 6-3 in their favor as well.

These Hawks were hot from the start when they put up a 5-spot in the first inning of game 1. The squad continued to pour it on as they put up 10 runs enroute to the victory. Angel Aguilar was the star of the show in game 1 as he left the yard twice, once in the 2^nd and once in the 4^th! He put together a solid 2-3 day, crossing the plate 3 times and driving in 4 runs. Luis Castro also had a multi-hit game going 2-2 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI’s.

The FerryHawks kept the momentum going as they started game 2 the exact way they did game 1, with a 5 run first inning! This 5-run inning was powered by Jack Elliott who lasered a ball over the wall for a grand slam to set the tone early. The FerryHawks tacked on some insurance and the pitching held strong. Lockdown reliever, Anthony Quattrocchi was the starter for the FerryHawks in this one. Quattrocchi has pitched his way to a 1.93 ERA over 18 appearances out of the pen this season, but this is his first start for the club. He finished with a final line of 3 innings, 2 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), and 4 strikeouts.

The combo of Christian Capuano – who is freshly off the IL – and Pat Quinn nailed down the win as the FerryHawks took two of two in this doubleheader. The clubs square off again tomorrow and the weekend slate is loaded at SIUH Community Park. Star Wars Night on Saturday, and American Dream Night on Sunday with an appearance by Chase from Paw Patrol makes for a great weekend out at the ballpark with the family!

Lexington 7, York 6

(July 7th, 2023 – York, Pa.):  The York Revolution were one strike away from wrapping up a first half division title before allowing two runs in the top of the ninth inning in a gut wrenching 7-6 defeat to the Lexington Counter Clocks on Friday evening at WellSpan Park. The Revs finish the first half 37-26 and now turn their attention to the second half opener on Saturday night.

The Clocks erupted for four runs in the top of the first inning as York starter Carlos Espinal walked three and gave up two home runs, a two-run shot by Connor Owings and a solo blast to the lawn in right center by JC Encarnacion. J.T. Hintzen came on in relief just two days after earning a win in a starting role and got a ground ball to first to strand the bases loaded as he went on to handle 2.2 innings of scoreless relief

York answered right away as Trent Giambrone reached on an error, Tomo Otosaka hit a ground rule double over the LED board in right center field, and Troy Stokes Jr dumped a two-run bloop base hit into shallow left field as the Revs trailed 4-2 after one.

The Revs tied the game in the third inning as the first three batters reached via the walk. That preceded a pair of sac flies as Jacob Rhinesmith hit one to deep right center and Trey Martin drilled a liner to deep left, tying the game 4-4 after three innings of play.

Richard Urena launched a two-run home run onto the lawn in right center, giving the Revs their first lead of the game at 6-4 in the bottom of the sixth.

York’s bullpen continued to put up zeroes as Tasker Strobel handled a scoreless frame and Andrew Cabezas was dominant from the fifth through the seventh.

The only damage off Cabezas came in the eighth inning as Encarnacion hit his second bomb of the game, a solo shot to left to cut York’s lead to 6-5.

Denson Hull came on in the ninth attempting his second straight save. He retired the first two hitters but then walked the next two. Victor Capellan was brought in with runners at first and second, but loaded the count against Encarnacion, and with both runners going with two outs, allowed a high blooper to shallow left that landed between Stokes Jr. and Giambrone for a stunning two-run hit, giving the Clocks the 7-6 lead.

The Revs went down 1-2-3 in the ninth against Lexington closer Garrett Schilling.

York righty Tom Sutera (4-3, 7.21) faces Lexington southpaw Michael Kickham (1-1, 5.79) in Saturday night’s second half opener at 6:30 p.m. The night includes Inside-the-Park Fireworks presented by UPMC. It is also Napoleon Dynamite Night with an appearance by Uncle Rico. Tickets are on sale at YorkRevolution.com, (717) 801-HITS, and in-person at the Shipley Energy Ticket Office.

Spire City 6, Lancaster 3

Lancaster did its best to avoid another matchup against Spire City right fielder Craig Dedelow. 

Andrew Lee retired the side in order in the top of the ninth, keeping Dedelow on deck.  Lancaster put runners at first and second with one out in the bottom of the inning in the 2-2 tie, but Joseph Carpenter was thrown out at the plate with the possible winning run.

Dedelow stepped in again, and, with his second homer of the night and fifth in four games against the Barnstormers, delivered the deciding blow as the GhostHounds won their first ever game at Clipper Magazine Stadium, 6-3.

With Scott Kelly at second to open the tenth inning, Dedelow blasted drove a Garrett Granitz (1-1) pitch out of the yard foul before connecting to put Spire City ahead, 4-2.  Granitz picked up two outs before walking Osvaldo Abreu and yielding a single up the middle to Luke Becker.  Leobaldo Cabrera doubled to right center for a 6-2 lead.

Lancaster had an opportunity to get back in the game in the home half of the inning.  Trace Loehr’s one-out RBI single scored Jake Hoover from second.  Ariel Sandoval followed with a walk, bringing the tying run to the plate.  Former Lancaster reliever Donald Goodson struck out Wilson Garcia and Trayvon Robinson in succession to end the game.

Dedelow’s initial homer came off Jared Lakind in the second to stake Spire City to a 1-0 lead.  Lancaster turned the tables on David Kubiak in the bottom of the third.  Jack Conley roped a double into left center and scored when Anthony Peroni laced a double down the right field line.  Two outs later, Loehr singled on a one-hopper to the fence in right to score the second run.

Becker tied the game with a homer to right center in the fifth.

Lakind, making his first start since June 15, allowed only three hits in six innings.  Lancaster’s first three relievers, Zach Warren, Mike Adams and Andrew Lee, retired the side in order for an inning apiece.

Lancaster left five runners on base between the sixth and seventh innings against Kubiak, who allowed five hits and two runs in seven.

Brendan Medoro (1-0), in his third professional appearance, earned the win.

Nile Ball (2-4) will pitch the second half opener on Saturday against Ghost Hounds pitching coach Elih Villanueva (1-6).  Fireworks will follow.  Fans may tune in on FloBaseball, beginning at 6:25.

NOTES:  The loss was Lancaster’s sixth straight…They have been outhomered, 13-1, on the homestand and 16-2 in the losing streak…Loehr is batting .354 (17-for-48) in his last 14 games…Lakind’s ERA stands at 1.95 after his fifth quality start…The lefty has allowed only 30 hits in 50 2/3 innings.