(May 30, 2021 – York, Pa.): The York Revolution dropped both games of Sunday’s doubleheader, falling 11-4 and 6-4 to the High Point Rockers at PeoplesBank Park on a chilly early season afternoon. The Revs (1-2) will go for a season-opening split when the four-game set concludes in Monday evening’s Memorial Day finale at 6:30 p.m.
High Point took the initiative early in game one. Cesar Trejo started the game with a bloop single to right. James McOwen followed with an RBI double to right field, and after advancing to third on a wild pitch, was brought in by a sac fly to center from Logan Morrison. A Giovanny Alfonzo sac fly to right field brought in a run in the second for a 3-0 lead.
After struggling in his first two innings, Revs starter Duke von Schamann settled in with scoreless third and fourth frames, retiring eight straight at one point.
The Rockers plated two in the fifth as Jared Mitchell worked a bases-loaded walk and Michael Russell picked up an RBI on a fielder’s choice.
A 5-0 deficit for York became 11-0 in the sixth as High Point sent 11 batters to the plate, scoring six times on four hits. McOwen did the most damage with a two-run single to right. Morrison and Edwin Arroyo added RBI singles, sandwiching a Russell sac fly as the game was put out of reach.
Even with the deficit, York did not go quietly in the seventh. Chris Vazquez worked a walk with one out and scored on a fielding error committed by Russell at third base. Nellie Rodriguez collected his first RBI of the season with a ground-rule double to deep left-center, plating Melky Mesa. Not to be outdone, Carlos Franco batted in two with a base hit that deflected off the glove of C.J. Farias at first to make it 11-4.
Right-handed reliever Max Povse ended the threat and the game with a strike out after allowing four runs, all unearned.
Luke Westphal kept Revs hitters guessing in four innings of work, making the start for High Point. The lefty struck out 10, allowing no runs on two hits and four walks in the no-decision.
von Schamann (0-1) suffered the game one loss allowing five runs on five hits, walking four, and striking out three.
Rockers reliever Nefi Ogando (1-0) earned the win in game one with a scoreless fifth inning.
York struck first in game two, plating three runs in its first at-bats. Darian Sandford worked a lead-off walk, stole second, and advanced to third on a wild pitch from High Point starter Ricky Knapp. Mesa doubled Sandford home on a liner to left-center, and Rodriguez launched a towering two-run bomb to straightaway center for a 3-0 lead after one inning of play.
Both teams traded runs in the second. High Point plated its run with a single from Farias, his first professional hit. York responded with Edwin Figuera’s RBI double to right-center, plating Rashad Crawford who had singled and stole second for a 4-1 lead.
High Point took the lead, 6-4 in the fourth with five runs on four hits. The first five batters of the inning all reached safely as the tide turned quickly. Logan Moore led off with a single to left and Arroyo served a bloop single to center. Farias batted in Moore on a fielder’s choice and Giovanny Alfonzo collected an RBI bloop single to right. Farias tied the game, reaching home plate on a wild pitch and Cesar Trejo finished the barrage with a two-run home run over the Arch Nemesis in left for the 6-4 lead.
Knapp (1-0) rebounded from the shaky start, hanging in to complete five innings in the win. The right-hander allowed four runs on six hits, walked two, and struck out eight in five innings.
Revs starter Austin Nicely (0-1) suffered the loss, allowing six runs (four earned) in 3.2 innings while striking out three.
Eduardo Rivera handled 2.1 scoreless innings and Alberto Rodriguez fired a scoreless frame out of the Revs bullpen to keep the game close, but High Point’s combo of Preston Gainey (sixth inning) and Jake Petricka (save, seventh inning) matched those zeroes to close it out for the Rockers.
Notes: With his two-run single in game one, Franco notched the 500th RBI of his pro career. Rodriguez is 5-for-9 with two doubles and a homer to begin the season and holds the early Atlantic League lead with a 1.778 OPS. Darian Sandford picked up his first stolen base with the Revs in the first inning of game two; it was the 202nd career Atlantic League stolen base for Sandford who ranks fifth all-time. He is now just eight steals shy of matching former Revs outfielder Chris Walker for fourth (210), and 10 steals behind Dwight Maness for third (212).
Up Next: The Revs and Rockers conclude their four-game series on Memorial Day at 6:30 PM. RHP Austin Steinfort will make his 2021 Revs debut opposite LHP Bryce Hensley. Monday is Salute to Military Service at PeoplesBank Park. It is also a Hunger Free Monday presented by Frank Rossi, Geico Insurance Agent. Tickets are on sale at YorkRevolution.com, (717) 801-HITS, and in-person at the Shipley Energy Ticket Office.
