Streaking Rockers make it 5 straight

RECAP: High Point Rockers 8, Charleston Dirty Birds 0
Tuesday, April 30, 2024

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Five High Point pitchers held Charleston to just three hits as the Rockers opened their home season with a rousing 8-0 win over the Dirty Birds in front of a crowd of 2,029 on Tuesday night at Truist Point.

The Rockers have now started the season at 5-0 and are the only undefeated team in professional baseball.

Lefty Brandon Leibrandt went four innings and allowed just one hit while striking out seven. David Mckay allowed a hit in the fifth and then Southwest Guilford High grad Jacob Edwards tossed a pair of scoreless innings, allowing just one hit while striking out four. Zach Muckenhirn didn’t allow a hit in the eighth and Austin Ross closed it out by pitching around a walk in the ninth.

Offensively, the Rockers came out hot right from the start. Connor Owings slugged an RBI single in the first and Zander Wiel knocked home a run on an infield groundout to stake the Rockers to a 2-0 lead.

Owings and Wiel led off the third with back-to-back homers to push the Rockers to a 4-0 advantage. The lead ballooned to 7-0 with Aklinski rocketing a three-run homer, his fourth of the year. D.J. Burt hit a solo homer in the eighth to complete the scoring.

Charleston’s hits came on a double by Jared Carr in the second, a single by Carr in the fifth and a single by Gabriel Cancel in the seventh.

Aklinski finished with three RBI, Connor Owings had three hits, a pair of doubles and two RBI, and Wiel finished with two RBI. Burt had two singles and a homer for a three-hit night.

The Rockers and Dirty Birds will play game two of the three-game series on Wednesday night at 6:35 p.m. at Truist Point.

NOTES: The Rockers are 5-0 to start the season for the first time in club history . . . Ben Aklinski leads the Atlantic League with four homers and 15 RBI . . . High Point has hit 15 homers through the first five games . . . Gastonia has 15 homers through its first 8 games . . . High Point has hit multiple homers in every game this season . . .  Here are High Point’s previous 5-game homer totals: 2019-2; 2021-2; 2022-3; 2023-5 . . . The Rockers, at 5-0 are the only undefeated team in professional baseball . . . Aklinski has a hit in all five games, a homer in three of five contests and an RBI in four of five . . . Connor Owings has a hit in all five games, a homer in three of five and an RBI in three of five . . . This marked the 20th time in 529 all-time games that High Point pitchers have held the opponents to three hits or fewer.