From 0-5 to a 4th Straight Playoff Berth: How the Peppers Turned Their Season Around
AtL Gastonia Ghost Peppers

From 0-5 to a 4th Straight Playoff Berth: How the Peppers Turned Their Season Around

Published on September 14, 2025 under Atlantic League (AtL)
Gastonia Ghost Peppers News Release


Gastonia Ghost Peppers exchange high fives
Gastonia Ghost Peppers exchange high fives
(Gastonia Ghost Peppers)

The Ghost Peppers dropped their first five games of the 2025 season.

They won just nine of their first 30, 17 of their first 47 and finished the first half a division-worst 28-35.

Yet, they've won the South Division second half championship and are headed to the ALPB Playoffs for a fourth straight season.

The manner in which the Peppers have turned their year around consists of slugging, starting pitching and speed.

Gastonia's always slugged.

It's the only franchise in Atlantic League history to have multiple 200+ home run seasons (2023 & 2024), with a potential for a third in 2025.

Home runs were prevalent with the Ghost Peppers from the beginning of the season, when the team got off to the rough start. But the offense was inconsistent over the first few weeks. Gastonia had trouble getting runners in from third base with less than two outs, and it seems to only be winning games where the team put up a big inning.

Plus, the starting pitching didn't do the offense much favors.

Over the first 25 games of the season, there was only one Gastonia starter to go five innings - Connor Grey on May 10.

The first starter to last six innings was Justus Sheffield, who accomplished the feat on June 6 - the 37th game of the year. By that date, Gastonia was a division-worst 13-23, 13 games back of High Point.

And the Peppers' head-to-head record against High Point certainly wasn't up to standards.

Gastonia and High Point faced off 27 times this season, with 21 contests coming in the first half. The Peppers went 8-13 against the Rockers in the first half, and finished the year winning just 10 of the 27 matchups against their rival.

With an inconsistent offense, starting pitching woes and a lack of success against an arch rival, it was hard to see Gastonia rebounding in the second half. But the club was able to in a big way.

After a slow start to half No. 2, the Peppers picked up a big sweep of Staten Island at home on the weekend of July 18.

The series started with Dalton Guthrie going 6-for-6 with 7 RBIs, becoming the sixth player in ALPB history to record six hits in a game.

The weekend also consisted of Cole Roederer having a two-homer game, as well as good starts by Ljay Newsome, Craig Stem (quality start) and Connor Grey.

Gastonia then took two of three from Lexington before going on a run from late July to mid August.

The Peppers won 12 out of 13 games from July 27 - August 10, capping off the span with a Justin Wylie walk-off single to win an eighth straight game.

This was the turning point of the season - a time when both the pitching and offense started to click, and that's exactly what the team's record reflected.

Starters were going deeper into games and began pitching more effectively, with Matt Hartman leading the way for the staff. Hartman won ALPB Pitcher of the Month of July, going 1-0 with a 1.64 ERA in 25 innings. The right-hander walked just five and punched out 25 batters in the month.

August was all about slugging.

Gastonia crushed a league-leading 42 homers during the month, slugging .469. Guthrie hit .360, Justin Wylie had an incredible 1.157 OPS and Carter Aldrete led the Atlantic League with 12 homers and 36 RBIs.

The Peppers also stole 68 bases during August, and currently lead the ALPB with 259 steals on the year.

The power-speed combo has resulted in accolades for three, and potentially soon-to-be four, players.

Wylie, Roederer and Eric De La Rosa have all joined the 20-homer, 20-stolen base club in 2025. Out of the nine players in the league to reach that plateau this season, three of them are Peppers.

Wylie leads the team with 28 homers, and has stolen 35 bags. He's joined the 20-20 club for a second straight season with the franchise, going 30-20 in 2024. Wylie also leads the ALPB with 87 walks and 121 runs scored.

Roederer has 20 long balls and 24 steals. The lefty's right behind Wylie on the league leaderboard in walks, totalling 75 free passes on the season.

De La Rosa's had a banner year, becoming the first player in franchise history to join the 20-40 club. His 44 steals rank fifth in the league, to go along with his 22 home runs.

The potential fourth player is Narciso Crook, who currently has 19 homers and 23 steals. The former Chicago Cub is a homer shy of joining his three teammates in the exclusive club.

Gastonia managed to wrap up the playoff spot on Saturday night with a 10-4 win over Charleston, improving to 37-22 in the second half.

Now the Ghost Peppers enter familiar territory, facing off against High Point in the South Division Championship Series for the third time in the last four years. Gastonia was eliminated by High Point in five games in 2022, and then returned the favor in 2023 by taking out the Rockers in five games.

The Ghost Peppers managed to dig themselves out of a hole and get to the postseason.

They dropped their first five games of 2025. But now, they have five games to rewrite their story.

Check out the Gastonia Ghost Peppers Statistics

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Gastonia Ghost Peppers exchange high fives
Gastonia Ghost Peppers exchange high fives
   



Atlantic League Stories from September 14, 2025


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