Rockers rally falls short in loss to York

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 21st 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.