A nine-run sixth inning provided more than enough runs for the visiting Gastonia Grizzles (9-8) to defeat the Wilmington Sharks (8-10) by a 14-5 margin Saturday night.

The Sharks were held to just seven hits in the loss, while Gastonia pounded out 23 hits in the win.

In the sixth inning, Gastonia sent 15 batters to the plate, and had nine runners reach base to begin the inning before an out was recorded. The Sharks used three pitchers in the inning, but could not stop the bleeding once it began.

Gastonia opened the night’s scoring when they posted three runs in the top of the third inning, but the Sharks responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the same frame. That was as close as the game would get, however, as the Grizzles added another run in the fourth before the nine-run sixth virtually ended things.

The Sharks did plate more runs after the big inning by Gastonia, including two runs in the bottom of the sixth and a final run in the ninth, but it was too little too late for the Sharks.

Alex Freedman tallied the best line for the Sharks, officially going 1-for-1 but reaching base via the walk three times on the night. His one hit also drove in the final Wilmington run of the night.

Scott Coleman came on defensively and knocked a triple to the wall in his only plate appearance, while Kenny Bryant added a hit and an RBI.

Daniel Aldrich was saddled with a 1-for-5 hitting line, but he did drive in two RBIs for the Sharks in the loss.

Evan Campbell, Aaron Preston and Ricardo Lizcano picked up the only other Wilmington hits on the night.

For Gastonia, Joe Ramirez finished the night 5-for-6 while Tyler White was 4-for-6 on the night.

After an off day Sunday, the Sharks open up a four-game home stand Monday night against Morehead City before stepping out of CPL play to host Catawba Valley on Tuesday night. Wednesday night Fayetteville comes to town on Star News Media Night at the Shark Tank. The home stand ends Thursday night when the Sharks host Florence on Rita’s Italian Ice Shirt off our Back Night.

The Wilmington Sharks of the Coastal Plain League (CPL) have announced the signing of pitcher Zach Taylor from Evansville University for the 2011 season.

 Taylor also pitched for the Sharks last season, and is best known for throwing the first (and only) perfect game in Coastal Plain League history on July 22, 2010.

Zach Taylor re-joins the Sharks for 2011 after making CPL history in 2010.

Taylor entered his senior season at Evansville this spring, but was granted a medical redshirt after being hit in the head by a line drive this spring. Taylor currently has only 44 percent of his hearing.

In 2010 with the Sharks, Taylor tallied a 4-2 record with a 1.91 ERA over 47.0 innings while striking out 32 batters and holding opposing batters to a .194 batting average.

In his perfect game, Taylor needed just 117 pitches to complete the job.  Taylor’s night consisted of 13 ground-outs, 10 fly-outs and four strikeouts in the Sharks’ 13-0 victory over the visiting Fayetteville Swampdogs inside the Shark Tank last July.

The Wilmington Sharks are members of Coastal Plain League, the nation’s hottest summer collegiate baseball league.  Celebrating its 15^th season, The Coastal Plain League features 15 teams playing in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.  The CPL gives college players the chance to refine their skills with the use of wooden bats.  Players are housed with local host families for the summer.  The CPL has had over 800 alumni drafted and 44 alums make their Major League debut heading into 2011.  For more information on the Coastal Plain League, please visit the league website at www.coastalplain.com.

Another game, another strong pitching performance for a Wilmington Sharks (7-9) starting pitcher. Thursday night it was left-hander Chris O’Grady, who delivered a 10-strikeout performance in the Sharks 5-4 win over the Morehead City Marlins (8-8).

O’Grady (1-0) only had one thorn in his side, Marlins first baseman Chase McDonald, who provided all of the offense for Morehead City with two two-run homers to center field.

As for the rest of the Marlins, O’Grady allowed a total of two hits and didn’t allow a hit until there were two outs in the fifth.

Offensively for the Sharks, Daniel Aldrich, Jake Mayers and Russ Stupienski all turned in two-hit nights at the plate, but it will be Aaron Preston’s 1-for-4 night that will get the most credit for the win.

Up 3-2 at the time, Preston came through with a two-out, two-RBI single that appeared at the time to break the game open but instead was the game winner.

Aaron Preston's two-RBI single in the bottom of the sixth proved to be the difference Thursday night.

Wilmington opened the scoring in the fourth when Aldrich doubled before later scoring when Mayers reached base via a Morehead City error. The Sharks added another run an inning later when Stupienski led off the fifth with a double off the base of the right field wall before scoring on a single from K.J. McAllister.

After McDonald’s first two-run homer tied the game in the top of the sixth, the Sharks posted a three-spot on the board in the bottom of the inning.

Aldrich reached with a one-out single before he was followed on to the bases by Mayer with a walk. A sacrifice fly by Kenny Bryant advanced Aldrich to third, where, with Ricardo Lizcano hitting, Aldrich scored on a ball that squirted away from the Morehead City catcher. The close play was argued by Marlins head coach Jay Bergman, who was tossed after a lengthy, heated argument.

Lizcano would walk to set the stage for Preston’s two-out, two-RBI hit that extended the Sharks lead to 5-2.

McDonald’s second two-run homer in the eighth would be the last batter of the night for O’Grady, as reliever Ross Whitley struck out three of the four batters he faced to end the game.

The Sharks hit the road Friday night to play Fayetteville, but return to the Shark Tank Saturday night as they host the Gastonia Grizzles at 7:05. Saturday is WAVE Transit Night at the ballpark, and all fans riding the Wave Transit bus from Independence Mall to the Shark Tank receive a free ticket to the game. The contest is also Animal Emergency Bring your Dog to the Ballpark Night and the third annual Guns vs. Hoses charity softball game between Wilmington’s police and fire departments takes place starting at 5 p.m.