Rockers rally for 9-4 win at Charleston

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – With nearly every game a must-win game, the High Point Rockers rallied back from a 4-1 deficit on Saturday night to defeat the division-leading Charleston Dirty Birds 9-4 at GoMart Park.

The win puts the Rockers (29-20) four games behind Charleston (33-16) in the race for the Atlantic League’s South title with 14 games left to play.

High Point trailed Charleston 4-1 after five innings before scoring eight unanswered runs over the final four innings. The rally started with High Point stringing together four doubles in a three-run sixth inning. Connor Owings started the hit parade with a double and scored on a two-bagger by Ben Aklinski. Martin Figueroa doubled to plage Aklinski and Michael Martinez completed the inning with an RBI double that scored Figueroa and tied the game 4-4.

Owings hit a sac fly in the seventh to put High Point up 5-4 before Martinez hit a solo homer in the eighth to up the lead to 6-4.

The Rockers banged out two more doubles in the top of the ninth to score three times and increase the advantage to 9-4. Ryan Grotjohn led off the inning with a double and Owings drew a walk. Evan Edwards doubled home Grotjohn, Figueroa was hit by a pitch load the bases before Brian Parreira drew a walk to force home Owings. Martinez bounced out to bring home Edwards to send the Rockers to the bottom of the ninth with a 9-4 lead.

Mickey Jannis started for the Rockers and went four innings, allowing five hits and two runs with four walks and a strikeout. Justin Lewis yielded a pair of runs in the fifth before Kyle Halbohn shut down the Dirty Birds in the sixth. Garrett Schilling threw a hitless eighth and Will Carter (W, 1-1) struck out the side in the eighth. Jameson McGrane closed it out for High Point in his first appearance since returning from Mexico, allowing a walk and a strikeout.

The Rockers face another set of critical games on Sunday, playing at Charleston in a 4:05 p.m. doubleheader at GoMart Park.

High Point returns home on Tuesday and will host Lexington in the final homestand of the season. The first of the six games is slated for a 6:35 p.m. first pitch at Truist Point.