Wereski strikes out 11 as Burt powers Rockers past Dirty Birds

Ben Wereski delivered the sharpest start High Point had gotten all season, and D.J. Burt turned a milestone night into a five-RBI breakout as the Rockers beat the Charleston Dirty Birds 5-2 at Truist Point. The win came in Game 62 of 126 for High Point and gave the Rockers two straight over Charleston after a 9-6 victory the night before.

Wereski, who improved to 2-1, worked seven innings and allowed just one run on three hits and three walks while striking out a career-high 11. High Point’s staff struck out 13 Charleston hitters overall.

The Rockers backed Wereski immediately. Ryan McCarthy opened the game with a leadoff triple, then scored when Burt grounded out to make it 1-0. Burt added another RBI before the game was through, plating Patrick Sanchez for a 2-0 lead. Charleston briefly cut into the advantage after Shawon Dunston Jr. stole second and third and came home on a throwing error.

Burt put the game away in the seventh with a three-run homer, pushing his RBI total to five and giving him a career high in that category. Burt became only the second player in franchise history to reach 300 career hits. High Point finished with seven hits.

Charleston got its final run in the ninth on a Carlos De La Cruz RBI single. The Dirty Birds, who entered at 22-39, fell to 22-40, while High Point moved to 28-34 and evened the season series with Charleston at 5-5 through 10 meetings. The Rockers were set to hand the ball to Kent Emmanuel for the next game against David Lebron at 6:35 p.m. July 2 at Truist Point.