Sako dominates as High Point tops Southern Maryland 6-1

Yuhi Sako delivered the kind of start High Point needed, and the Rockers backed it with their sharpest offensive sequencing of the night in a 6-1 win over Southern Maryland at Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf, Maryland. If this was just a one-night response, it was a forceful one. If it was the start of rotation stability, High Point may have found it at exactly the right time.

Sako worked eight innings, allowed one run, did not issue a walk and matched his career high with eight strikeouts. High Point described the outing as the best of his career, a notable marker for a 26-year-old right-hander who joined the Rockers on Sept. 10, 2025 after pitching in the Mets organization. The result mattered because High Point entered at 23-32, mired in a 4-6 stretch over its previous 10 games, while Southern Maryland came in at 38-17 and still chasing a first-half clinch atop the Atlantic League South Division.

Luke Napleton gave Sako early support and then helped break the game open. In the second inning, Napleton singled, moved up when Nick Longhi drew a walk and scored on Mikey Kane’s single for a 1-0 lead. The game stayed tight until the seventh, when Napleton led off the inning with a solo homer, his third hit of the night and one that left him a triple shy of the cycle. After another walk and a series of productive outs, Nolan Watson unloaded a three-run homer to left, his fourth of the season, stretching the lead to 5-0. High Point added one more in the ninth when Ethan Skender hustled home on Ryan McCarthy’s groundout after a bunt, a hit-by-pitch and an infield single kept the inning moving.

Southern Maryland finally got on the board in the eighth when Danny Bautista Jr. opened the inning with a solo homer, his sixth of the year, but by then the outcome was all but settled. Ezequiel Pagan had three hits in the loss, yet Connor Overton could not hold down a Rockers lineup that kept adding pressure with clean at-bats and timely contact. Overton was tagged for five runs, and the Blue Crabs, despite entering the game leading the league in runs scored, batting average, on-base percentage and sacrifice flies, never found enough offense to back him.

The loss left Southern Maryland’s magic number to clinch the first-half South Division title at four. High Point, meanwhile, left with a result that looked less like a stopgap and more like the start of something sturdier. The series was set to continue June 25 with Ben Wereski facing Ian Kahaloa.