Rockers roll over Blue Crabs, 14-1

WALDORF, Md. – it was a record-setting day for the High Point Rockers on Monday as they defeated Southern Maryland 14-1 in a makeup game of a Saturday rainout at Regency Furniture Stadium.

Right fielder Ben Aklinski drove in four runs to give him 100 for the season, breaking the club record of 98 RBI set last year by Zander Wiel. Starting pitcher Mickey Jannis extended his club record for wins to 13 this season, more than any previous Rocker hurler, by throwing eight innings of three-hit baseball.

It was an afternoon in which the Rockers’ offense pounded out 18 hits and five home runs, two apiece from Aklinski and Emmanuel Tapia. Each finished with three base hits and four RBI.

The Rockers set a club record for wins in a season with their 76th victory, eclipsing the 75 wins posted by the inaugural High Point team in 2019. And it was High Point’s 34th win in the second half, another club record.

Jannie and Southern Maryland starter Daryl Thompson each threw three shutout innings to start the contest. The Rockers broke the ice in the fourth when Quincy Latimore singled and scored on a two-run fielding error by the Blue Crabs and Tapia hit a two-run homer.

So. Maryland got its only run of the game in the bottom of the fourth when Alex Crosby hit a sacrifice fly to score Khalil Lee who had drawn a walk from Jannis.

From that point on, it was all Rockers. Aklinski hit a two-run homer in the fifth and Latimore added a solo shot in the same frame. In the sixth, Tapia singled and scored on a triple by D.J. Burt, who moved into a tie for the league lead with six triples. Daikan Yoh doubled to score Burt and then crossed home on an Aklinski double.

Tapia added a two-run homer in the seventh and Aklinski hit a solo shot, his 24th of the year, in the eighth.

Jannis went eight innings, allowing just three hits while walking two and striking out two. Darrien Ragins allowed two hits in the ninth but no runs while earning one strikeout.

The Rockers will head to York, Pa. and start a three-game series with the York Revolution on Tuesday night at 6:35 p.m. The game will be streamed live on FLO Baseball and also available on the Mixlr app.

NOTES: Ben Aklinski hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning and a sixth inning double to give him 99 RBI on the season. He then reached the 100-RBI mark with an eighth inning solo homer. Aklinski has become just the second player in Atlantic League history to post two 100-RBI seasons in his career. He drove in 105 runs with Lexington in 2021. Lancaster’s Andretty Cordero drove in 118 runs last year and has 108 this season… At 34-20 in road games, the Rockers will finish the regular season above .500 away from Truist Point for the first time in club history… Mickey Jannis is now tied with Gastonia’s Zach Mort for the league lead with 13 wins… Jannis is fourth in the Atlantic League in strikeouts with 113, the second-most ever by a High Point pitcher behind Joe Van Meter’s 131 in 2019… Jannis also won his 15th game as a Rocker, tying Craig Stem for the club career wins record… High Point’s 14 runs were the most it has scored since a 22-2 win over Spire City on July 29.