Emanuel fans 10 as High Point powers past Staten Island 9-3

Kent Emanuel overpowered Staten Island with 10 strikeouts in five innings, and High Point turned an early two-run deficit into a 9-3 win Wednesday night at SIUH Community Park. The Rockers absorbed first-inning homers from Osvaldo Abreu and Matt Hogan, then buried the FerryHawks with a middle-inning surge and three insurance runs in the ninth.

High Point needed the response after losing the opener of the six-game series 3-2 on Tuesday, a game in which the Rockers were held to five hits. Emanuel improved to 2-0 and reached a season high in strikeouts, controlling the game after Staten Island’s fast start and limiting the FerryHawks to seven hits.

Ryan McCarthy sparked the comeback in the third inning, doubling and scoring on a D.J. Burt single to cut the lead to 2-1. Two innings later, McCarthy put High Point ahead for good with a two-run homer that made it 3-2. Staten Island briefly pulled even when Hogan hit his second home run of the night in the sixth, but the Rockers answered immediately.

Luke Napleton, who had been honored as Atlantic League Player of the Month on July 6, delivered the biggest counterpunch with a two-run homer in the seventh. That blast stretched the lead to 6-3. The Rockers then added three more runs in the ninth, with Mikey Kane ripping a double and Braxton Davidson driving in two runs with a single.

McCarthy and Davidson each finished with two RBIs, Napleton added his own two-run shot, and High Point’s bullpen backed Emanuel with scoreless work from Nick Timpanelli, Kyle Halbohn and Ryan Chasse. Against a Staten Island club that entered at 11-55 overall and 1-3 in the second half, High Point improved to 29-37 and 0-4 in the second half.