Rockers take historic sweep of Revs

YORK, Pa. – The High Point Rockers broke out their offense in record-setting fashion on Wednesday afternoon, sweeping a doubleheader from the York Revolution at WellSpan Park. After winning the opener 22-12, the Rockers took the nightcap 10-8.

High Point and York had entered the game tied for the best overall record in the Atlantic League. After the sweep, the Rockers are now 46-26 while York slips to 44-28. The Rockers are 5-4 in the second half of the season.

The Rockers set club records for the most runs scored in a doubleheader, most DH sweeps in a season, and most grand slams in a season. In addition, the 22 first game runs were the second-most the Rockers have scored in a game and the 13-runs in the third inning of the opener was also the second-most in an inning. The 32 runs scored by High Point are the most-ever by the Rockers in a twinbill.

After taking a 7-0 lead in the first inning of the opener, the Revs retaliated with four runs in the first and three more in the second to tie the game at 7-7. But High Point sent 18 batters to the plate in the third inning, scoring 13 runs on eight hits with 13 consecutive hitters reaching base during one stretch.

Daniel Blair (W, 2-0) relieved starter Pat Gardner in the second inning and allowed three runs and seven hits over his 2.1 innings of work. York reliever Jordan Morales (L, 1-1) yielded four runs after coming into the game with two outs in the first in relief of starter Danny Denz. Rockers pitchers walked one and struck out seven

Every Rocker starter had at least one hit, an RBI and a run scored in the opener.

Game two started much the same way as game one with the Rockers scoring three runs in the top of the first, highlighted by an Alex Dickerson two-run homer. High Point added four runs in the third including another Dickerson two-run homer and a two-run triple by Nolan Watson. In the fifth, Braxton Davidson blasted a 467-foot two-run homer, the longest in the Atlantic League this season, as the Rockers took a 9-0 lead. In the top of the seventh, Ben Aklinski doubled and scored on a single by Watson for a 10-0 High Point advantage.

But the Revs rallied in the bottom of the seventh, touching Zach Vennaro for seven runs on seven hits to pull within 10-7. Rockers manager Jamie Keefe brought in Jameson McGrane with one out and the bases loaded. After allowing an RBI single, McGrane got York’s Frankie Tostado to pop out to second to end the game and secure High Point’s 10-8 win.

Ben Wereski, who signed with the Rockers on Thursday morning, went three innings in the start and allowed just three hits before yielding to Win Scott in the fourth. Scott (W, 2-0) allowed just one hit over his three innings of work and kept the Revs scoreless until the seventh.

On the day Aklinski went six-for-10 with six runs scored while Viera was five-for-10 with five RBI. Dickerson also drove in five runs on three hits in the twinbill.

The Rockers will now move 26 miles over to Lancaster and start a three-game series with the Stormers on Friday night at 6:45 p.m. at Penn Medicine Park.

NOTES: The Rockers eight hits in the first was one off the club record for hits in an inning. High Point had nine hits in the ninth inning of a 22-2 win at Spire City on July 29, 2023 . . . Max Viera’s third inning grand slam was his first slam of the season but set a club record as the ninth grand slam of the year for the Rockers . . . The 22 runs tied the aforementioned Spire City game for the second-most in a game by High Point . . . The record occurred in a 25-9 win at Lexington on July 20, 2022 . . . The 34 combined runs tied the club record previously set in the 25-9 win at Lexington . . . Ben Wereski, who signed with the Rockers Thursday morning and started game two, was pitching professionally for the first time since 2023 when he was a member of the Kansas City Royals organization. Wereski was an All-Ivy League pitcher at Columbia and pitched as a grad transfer at Rutgers . . . The Rockers have now swept all five doubleheaders they have played this season. The previous mark for most DH sweeps in a season had been three . . . The 32 runs scored in consecutive games mark the most in club history.