York 9, High Point 6
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point Rockers nearly overcame an eight-run deficit before falling 9-6 to the York Revolution in front of a crowd of 2,215 at Truist Point on Saturday night.

The loss drops the Rockers to 28-18 in the second half of the season following their fourth consecutive defeat. The Rockers trail the South Division-leading Gastonia Honey Hunters (32-15) by 3.5 games.

The Rockers put themselves in a 9-1 hole after six innings before mounting a comeback.  Shed Long, Jr. led off the Rockers half of the first with a double and scored on an infield ground out by Zander Wiel.

Austin Ross, making his first start as a Rocker after spending all of his Rockers career in the bullpen, allowed a run in the first and three in the second. Jhon Nunez drove in the first run with a single while Troy Stokes, Jr. and Drew Mendoza punched second inning RBI singles. After York tallied another run in the third for a 5-1 lead, the Revs scored four times in the fourth with Nunez contributing a two-run homer.

Trailing 9-1, High Point rallied for five runs in the seventh. Newcomer Diego Goris led off the frame with a walk and scored on Ben Aklinski’s 21^st homer of the year. Wiel followed with a single and scored on a double by Ryan Grotjohn. Daikan Yoh drew a walk before another newcomer, Jake Marshall singled to score Grotjohn. Wiel would cross the plate following a wild pitch. The Rockers would leave the bases loaded after the seventh.

Jacob Rhinesmith led the Revs with three hits as both teams finished the night with 13 hits. Long, Jr., Aklinski, Grotjohn and Yoh each had a pair of hits for the Rockers.

Ross (L, 1-2) took the loss while York starter Pedro Vasquez (W, 8-3) earned the win, allowing the Rockers just one over six innings. Zach Neff earned his first save of the year for York.

Game three of the series between High Point and York will start at 4:05 p.m. on Sunday. The game will be streamed live on FLO Baseball and also available on the Mixlr App.

NOTES: The Rockers signed free agent catcher Jake Marshall and he was in the starting line-up Saturday night and contributed an RBI single… Saturday also marked the High Point debut of infielder Diego Goris, acquired on Friday in a trade with the Charleston Dirty Birds… Goris entered the game in the seventh inning and had a hit and a walk while handling two chances at third base.

Long Island 4, Lancaster 3

(Central Islip, N.Y., Sept. 2, 2023) – The Long Island Ducks defeated Lancaster Barnstormers 4-3 on Saturday night in the second game of a four-game series at Fairfield Properties Ballpark. 

The Ducks took a 2-0 lead in the third inning on Ruben Tejada’s RBI single to left field and Alex Dickerson’s sac fly to left off Barnstormers starter Jared Lakind. Andretty Cordero responded with a solo homer to left in the fourth off Ducks starter Joe Iorio, closing the gap to 2-1.

Long Island extended the lead to 4-1 in the sixth on a bases loaded walk by Jonathan Guzman and an RBI fielder’s choice off the bat off Scott Kelly. A two-out, two-run single through the right side by Yeison Coca in the eighth trimmed the Ducks lead to one, but the Flock held the lead to preserve the win.

Iorio (5-8) earned the win, tossing five innings of one-run ball, allowing three hits and two walks while striking out two. Lakind (8-4) took the loss, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks in five and one-third innings with three strikeouts. Jose Jose pitched a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his fourth save of the season.

Tejada led the Flock offensively with two hits and a run batted in. Guzman added a hit, an RBI, a run and a walk.

The Ducks and Barnstormers continue their four-game series on Sunday afternoon. Game time is slated for 1:35 p.m., with the Fairfield Properties Ballpark gates opening at 12:35 (12:20 for full season ticket holders). The first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive Reusable Sunglass/Eyeglass Lens Cleaners, courtesy of AARP. It’s also a Sunday Family Funday, presented by Bethpage Federal Credit Union. Prior to the game, fans will be invited down for a Catch on the Field from 12:40 to 1:00. After the game, fans of all ages are also invited to take part in Kids Run the Bases. Left-hander Ian Clarkin (3-3, 4.82) toes the rubber for the Ducks against Barnstormers righty Matt Swarmer (2-1,2.49).

Charleston 9, Staten Island 3

J.C. Perez of Charleston tied the league season-high with five hits in leading the Dirty Birds to a 9-3 win over Long Island. Telvin Nash and Yefri Perez homered for Charleston to support of Mikey York who struck out six in six innings and improving to 2-2 on the season. Christian Capuano (10-4) took the loss for Staten Island. Staten Island’s Justin Williams homered for the third consecutive game.

Gastonia 8, So. Maryland 6

Gastonia scored four times in the first inning including an RBI double by Zach Jarrett and run-scoring singles from Eric De La Rosa and Alexis Olmeda and went on to an 8-6 win over visiting Southern Maryland. De La Rosa, David Washington and Steven Moya all hit solo homers for the Honey Hunters.

So. Maryland’s Jimmy Kerrigan hit two homers, giving him five in the last three games. It was his third consecutive game with a home run. Kerrigan drove in five runs, giving him 13 in the last three contests. Harry Rutkowski earned the win for Gastonia to improve to 2-1 while Tony Dibrell (2-7) took the loss for the Blue Crabs.

Lexington 7, Spire City 6

Andrew Moritz drove in three runs in leading Lexington to a 7-6 win at home over Spire City. With the game tied 6-6 in the eighth, Moritz plated Zach Davis with a sac fly to give the Counter Clocks the lead. Brady Feigl (W, 2-2) earned the win in relief. Victor Capellan (L, 1-2) took the loss.