Gastonia scores late win over Rockers

GASTONIA, N.C. – Jake Gatewood hit a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Gastonia Baseball Club a 4-3 win over the High Point Rockers on Thursday night at CaroMont Health Park in Gastonia. It was Gatewood’s second homer of the night and came off Rockers reliever David McKay (L, 3-1).

Gastonia took an early 2-0 lead when Kevin Watson led off the bottom of the first with a single off High Point starter Cam Bedrosian. Gatewood then homered to put the GBC in front.

The Rockers earned one run back in the second when Connor Owings singled to center and moved to third when Gastonia center fielder Joe Gray, Jr. misplayed a ball hit by Jake Washer. Brian Parreira’s sacrifice fly to center cut Gastonia’s lead to 2-1.

GBC increased its lead to 3-1 in the fourth on back-to-back singles by Patrick Mazeika and Justin Wylie. Mazeika then scored from second on Eric De La Rosa’s single to right.

The Rockers tied the game in the top of the fifth when Fritz Genther singled and Evan Edwards hit a two-run homer, his seventh of the season.

Rockers starter Cam Bedrosian went seven innings and allowed six hits and three runs while walking one and striking out four. Zach Muckenhirn pitched a scoreless eighth inning for High Point before turning it over to McKay in the ninth.

Gastonia reliever Phoenix Sanders (W, 3-0) put the Rockers down in order in the ninth to earn the win.

Owings finished with three hits for the Rockers.

High Point will return home and start a three-game series with the Charleston Dirty Birds on Friday at 6:35 p.m. at Truist Point. It will be Strikeout Cancer Night, sponsored by Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist. Rockers assistant general manager Caroline Cooling, a cancer survivor who has battled Hodgkins Lymphoma over the past eight months, will be honored during the game.