Ties Derby Record

Daniel Aldrich and CPL Commissioner Pete Bock with the 2011 CPL Home Run Derby trophy.

The Wilmington Sharks of the Coastal Plain League are proud to announce that Daniel Aldrich won the 2011 Rawlings CPL Home Run Derby with 18 home runs in Fayetteville on Sunday night.

Aldrich added to his already long list of accomplishments by adding 2011 Rawlings Coastal Plain League Home Run Derby Champion to his resume Sunday night when he totaled 50 points off of 18 total home runs.

Already with 2011 National Freshman of the Year honors under his belt and winner of the 2011 TD Amaritrade Home Run Derby in Omaha earlier in July, Aldrich did not disappoint, blasting 18 total homers over the three rounds in Fayetteville for the win.

Aldrich’s 18 homers tied him for the most home runs in CPL Home Run Derby history with another Wilmington Shark – Dusty Bensko – who hit 18 homers in the 2004 Derby in Forence, S.C.

As was the case in Omaha, Aldrich had his dad, Charles, throwing to him. The duo out-did their Omaha total of 14 homers with the display on Sunday night.

Having already wrapped up the title before hitting in the Championship, Aldrich chased history in his final 10 outs, deciding to take five outs worth of swings with the wood bat and five outs with the aluminum bat.

With wooden bat homers worth three points and aluminum bat homers good for one point, Aldrich finished with a total of 50 points – 16 points from wooden bats and two from the aluminum bat.

The closest challenger to Aldrich was from Forest City’s Axel Johnson, who finished with 11 total homers worth 33 points.

The All-Star festivities wrap up on Monday, when the CPL All-Stars will do a variety of events, including making a visit to Fort Bragg Army base in Fayetteville, before the All-Star game on Monday night. The 2011 CPL All-Star game is set for a 7:05 first pitch.

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 700 alumni drafted and 35 alums make their Major League debut thus far.  For more information on the Coastal Plain League, please visit the league website at www.coastalplain.com.

Daniel Aldrich blasts one of his 18 home runs on Sunday night.

The Wilmington Sharks took over first place in the CPL South Division with a 6-3 win over the Fayetteville Swampdogs in Fayetteville on Saturday night.

The Sharks are now 9-3 in the CPL’s 2^nd Half, while Fayetteville drops to 9-4 and into second place.

Chris Mazza earned his fourth win of 2011 as the Sharks took over 1st Place Saturday night.

Both the offense and pitching were in sync, with the offense knocking around 10 hits and drawing four walks while Sharks starter Chris Mazza (4-2) was equally as impressive on the mound, tossing 7-1/3 innings while allowing five hits and three runs as he struck out seven Fayetteville batters.

As the case has been all week, the Sharks used a pair of big innings to fuel the win. Down one run, they took the lead with a two-run third inning before stretching the lead in the fifth when they brought five runs home.

Six Sharks tallied at least one hit apiece, with Alex Freedman leading the way with his second-consecutive three-hit night for Wilmington.

Jacob Leonardo and Ricardo Lizcano each had two-hit nights with both driving in one RBI as well.

Justyn Carter and Kenny Bryant both had one hit Saturday night, with each knocking in an RBI in the win. Bryant’s RBI gives him 11 RBIs in the Sharks’ last seven games. K.J. McAllister was the other Shark to tally a hit in the win.

With Fayetteville up 1-0, the Sharks three hits to take the lead in the third inning. Freedman opened the inning with a leadoff single before scoring one batter later on Leonardo’s RBI double. Two batters later, Leonardo traded places with Carter after the Sharks shortstop and 2011 CPL All-Star doubled to right field.

With the same score in the fifth, the Sharks plated four runs on three hits and two Fayetteville errors to push up the lead.

Carter opened the inning by walking before McAllister reached via a bunt single. With two on, Bryant reached on a fielder’s choice that brought home Carter.

Aldrich brought home the second run of the inning with his sacrifice fly RBI that brought home McAllister before Lizcano kept the scoreboard ticking with an RBI single that drove in Bryant.

Two batters later, after Jeff Moyer reached via an error, Lizcano scored on a Fayetteville wild pitch to push the lead to 6-1.

Fayetteville made things interesting in the eighth, scoring two runs after Sharks reliever Chris Dula came in and walked in a runner that he inherited when Mazza exited the game. Wilmington’s Ross Whitely ended the threat by striking out two Swampdogs batters, but he also allowed the second run of the inning to score via a wild pitch.

In the ninth, both teams placed one runner on but could not do anything with it, as Fayetteville popped up and grounded out to end the game with one runner on.

Three Sharks – Aldrich, Carter and Jake Mayers –  travel back to Fayetteville take part in the 2011 CPL All-Star festivities on Sunday and Monday nights, with Aldrich participating in the Home Run Derby on Sunday night.

Wilmington gets back into action after the All-Star break on Tuesday night when they welcome the Morehead City Marlins to town on a Time Warner Cable/Z 107.5 Two ‘fer Tuesday with 2-for-1 admission and hot dogs with $2 beverages. Tuesday’s game is also Budweiser Batter-Up Get Away Night where fans can register to win tickets to an Atlanta Braves game. Gates open at 6 p.m. with first pitch at 7:05.

For the second straight night, the Wilmington Sharks (8-3) had a great offensive night and took a 7-4 win over the visiting Martinsville Mustangs (5-7) as the Sharks wrapped up a four-game homestand Friday night.

Wilmington has now won three games in a row and four of their last six overall.

Alex Freedman led the Sharks offensive output with a three-hit night in Friday's win.

As was the case on Thursday, the Sharks used two big innings to propel themselves to the win, plating three runs in the third and fourth innings, as they also received a strong performance on the mound from lefty Mat Batts.

Batts earned his second win of the season after tossing 6-2/3 innings with eight strikeouts while allowing five hits and four runs.

Alex Freedman finished 3-for-4 on the night with three singles, while Ricardo Lizcano had himself a two-hit night with two RBIs in the win. Kenny Bryant and Jeff Moyer also had two RBIs each, while Daniel Aldrich picked up one RBI as the three Sharks each had one hit apiece.

With the game tied at 1-1 after both teams scored in the opening inning, the Sharks took the lead in the third with the three-run inning, highlighted by a Bryant two-run homer.

Lizcano drew a one-out walk before being driven home on Aldrich’s RBI double two batters later to give Wilmington a one-run lead before Bryant stepped in and blasted a two-run shot down the right field line to up the lead to 4-1.

The homer was Bryant’s third in the last five games.

In the fourth, the Sharks put three hits together to open the inning when Freedman and Eric Mayers singled before Moyer brought them home with a two-run double. Moyer himself scored two batters later on Lizcano’s single to right to extend the Sharks lead to 7-1.

Martinsville looked to have life in the seventh, when they cut into the lead after Ian Harvey’s three-run homer brought the score to 7-4, but the Mustangs couldn’t push across another run despite having a couple of chances the rest of the game.

The Sharks travel to Fayetteville to take on the Swampdogs on Saturday night before three players – Aldrich, Carter and Jake Mayers take part in the 2011 CPL All-Star festivities on Sunday and Monday nights, with Aldrich participating in the Home Run Derby on Sunday night.

Wilmington gets back into action after the All-Star break on Tuesday night when they welcome the Morehead City Marlins to town on a Time Warner Cable/Z 107.5 Two ‘fer Tuesday with 2-for-1 admission and hot dogs with $2 beverages. Tuesday’s game is also Budweiser Batter-Up Get Away Night where fans can register to win tickets to an Atlanta Braves game. Gates open at 6 p.m. with first pitch at 7:05.

Part of 2011 CPL All-Star Festivities

 The Wilmington Sharks of the Coastal Plain League have announced that 2011 CPL All-Star Daniel Aldrich has been selected to participate in the All-Star Home Run Derby as part of the 2011 All-Star festivities on Sunday night, July 17.

Daniel Aldrich is one of 16 CPL All-Stars in the Home Run Derby.

Aldrich will be one of eight players from the American team that will take on eight players from the National squad in the contest.

The Home Run Derby consists of three rounds with eight outs per round in the first two rounds before a 10-out final round where players can use aluminum bats for up to two outs per round. Home runs with wood bats are worth three points, while those homers with aluminum bats are only worth one point each.

After Round 1, the top three hitters from both teams will advance to Round 2, where the top two hitters overall will advance to Round 3. In the Final Round, the hitter with the most points, combined from Rounds 1-3, is crowned the 2011 Champion.

Aldrich, who plays collegiately at the College of Charleston, was named 2011 National Freshman of the Year and also recently won the 2011 College Home Run Derby on July 2.

He leads the Sharks with 28 RBIs through July 14, while his three home runs and seven doubles are tied for the most on the team.

The Fayetteville SwampDogs, in conjunction with the Coastal Plain League, will host the All-Star Game and festivities beginning on Sunday, July 17 and running through Monday, July 18. Game time is set for 7:05 p.m. on July 18. On Sunday, players will participate in the CPL All-Star Fan Fest before the 2011 CPL Home Run Derby Sunday night. Monday, the CPL All-Stars will do a variety of events, including making a visit to Fort Bragg Army base in Fayetteville, before the All-Star game on Monday night.

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 700 alumni drafted and 35 alums make their Major League debut thus far.  For more information on the Coastal Plain League, please visit the league website at www.coastalplain.com.

The Wilmington Sharks (7-3) used a pair of three-run home runs to take down the visiting Morehead City Marlins (5-6) in CPL South Division action Thursday night inside the Shark Tank.

Russ Stupienski had one of the Sharks' two three-run homers in the win Thursday night.

The Sharks used a Russ Stupienski three-run blast in the fourth inning to take a 4-1 lead only to see the Marlins come back and take a one run lead in the top of the fifth.

Kenny Bryant gave the Sharks the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth with his own three-run shot before Wilmington added one final insurance run in the bottom of the sixth.

Only one Shark batter recorded a two-hit night, Alex Freedman, but the Sharks tallied a hit apiece from seven other players in the win.

Justyn Carter and Ricardo Lizcano each had an RBI while Bryant and Stupienski tallied three RBIs thanks to their homers.

Carter and the Sharks opened the scoring in the bottom of the first when he singled and stole second base before advancing to third and Lizcano promptly singled him home for the early lead.

Morehead City took over the lead in the third when they plated two runs off four hits before Stupienski’s homer in the fourth gave the Sharks the 4-2 lead.

After taking the lead, the Sharks gave it right back in the top of the fifth when the Marlins plated three run to take a one run advantage.

Bryant gave Wilmington the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth with his three-run homer.

Both Stupienski’s and Brynat’s homers came with two outs in the inning.

The Sharks added the night’s final run in the sixth when Freedman opened the inning with a single before scoring on Carter’s sacrifice fly three batters later.

Stephen Vaughan made his first appearance of the season out of the bullpen for the Sharks and picked up win No. 3 on the summer after tossing two innings and allowing only one hit for the Marlins.

Ross Whitley struck out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth for his sixth save of the season.

Wilmington closes out its four-game homestand on Friday night when they welcome the Martinsville Mustangs to town on Coca-Cola Sharky Sharks bobblehead night at the Shark Tank. Gates open at 6 p.m. with first pitch scheduled for 7:05.