In typical Chris Powell fashion the Wilmington native and right hander for the Sharks tossed a perfect frame of releif and made his last exit from Buck Hardee Field as a member of the team he loved so.

A dirty breaking ball for a third strike and two contact outs made up the top of the 8th inning for the soon to be Presbyeterian College senior. Obligations away from the diamond have forced Powell to cut his 2009 campaign for the Sharks a bit shorter than he would have planned.

"I just want everyone to know how much I enjoyed my time here," Powell said, "All my teammates, the people that work for the Sharks, it has been great."

To talk to Chris Powell for just a moment you come away with a feeling that this is a genuine young man who loves baseball and his hometown Sharks. He shared a field with the Wilmington entry into the Coastal Plain League years before donning the Sharks jersey.

As a member of American Legion Post 10 baseball, Powell started learning his craft on the mound at the "Shark Tank." So when he got a chance to try out, then actually pitch for the Sharks in 2008 it truely was a dream come true. A dream Powell hopes will have many more stages as he will continue on to his second season with the Blue Hose and then even more baseball beyond that.

He will leave the '09 Sharks as the low ERA man out of the bullpen posting an average under one through much of the season's first half. But more than numbers Chris Powell will leave a lasting impression on all of those who had the privilage to get to know him as both a pitcher and a young man.

With apologies to our loyal "Shooting the Shark" readers, after a brief hiatus during a wild wild week at the "Shark Tank" your next insider's look at the Sharks is presented below.

Harp’s Accord: Starter Ryne Harper will toe the rubber with an even 1-1 win loss record in three starts on the season. The righty from Austin Peay has tossed outings of five, six and five innings, all on the road. In his last outing he picked up the win in a rained shortened game in Florence, giving up six runs, though only two were earned.

Ten to Win: Of the final ten games left on the first half schedule, eight will feature the Sharks against division rivals. Also Edenton visits tonight from the CPL North, while Gastonia will be in town from the West next week. As they sit 1.5 games back of first place Fayetteville, the Sharks will have to handle all their division rivals down this stretch to have a shot at the first half crown.

Error Free Sandwhich: Not since the first game of the season had the Sharks thrown up an 0 in the error column as they did last night. In between have been 16 games and 38 total errors. Over the last five games Sharks fielders tightened up, committing just five errors.

Word on the Street: Nixa, Missouri’s own Christian Overstreet has bolstered his average to .267 on the season with a solid week at the plate. Over the past seven days the Missouri State Bear picked up six hits in 16 at bats for a .375 on the week. Overstreet played in four games seeing time at first base and in the outfield.

Month of Sundays: Three off, now one on. The Sharks will be on the field for their first Sunday game this season, taking on the Columbia Blowfish, on the road at Capitol City Stadium.

Big game tonight. Only 10 games left in the first half, but the Sharks are still in the thick of the race. Give us a listen on the CPL Webpass. I hear the broadcaster is pretty decent.

Keep an eye out as the blogs will be flying off the cyber presses straight to your desktop.

-JW

A tough loss last night. Guys though were out at the "Shark Tank" early this morning for practice. So don't think they don't think about it. Florence, you've been warned.

Shark Bits

Last Game Synopsis: A stellar start from right hander Daniel
Cropper went by the boards as late errors cost the Sharks
in a 6-4 ten inning loss to Fayetteville. Leading 2-0 in
the 8th a throwing error allowed the tying runs to score.
Four runs then in the 10th for Fayetteville were enough to
hold off any late charge from the Sharks.

Once, Twice, Thrice: Daniel Cropper(1-0) added yet another
sparkling start to his already stellar early season resume.
For the third straight time at home, the UNCW righty put
his team in line for a possible win. Tuesday, Cropper spun
seven shut-out innings of no hit ball. He set a new game
high in strike-outs, fanning ten, to bring his team leading
total to 24. Cropper’s ERA dips to 0.47 over his 19 innings
of work.

It’s Not Ryan, Its Ryne: Right-hander Ryne Harper(0-1) will be
making his third start of the season tonight in Florence.
Touched up a bit in his last outing, a four run inning, and
a few defensive lapses behind him, spotted the Wilson Tobs
a lead, though he stuck around through six innings. On the
season Harper checks in with a 4.91 ERA in 11 innings,
recording eight punch-outs.

Putting the Hit in Designated Hitter: Arm troubles have taken
Adam Eggemeyer out of the Sharks defensive line-up but the
lefty slugger has been thriving in the DH roll. Leading the
league in average(.447) hits(21) and total bases(31) the
Steeleville, IL native is third in the league with 10 RBI.
Since sliding into the DH roll on June 5th Eggemeyer is
11-for-19, a .578 clip.

Speaking of the Leaderboard: Six pitchers without an earned
run to their credit this season top the league pitching
leaderboard. Two Sharks are sliding in just behind, Daniel
Cropper is 7th with his 0.47 and J.C. Casey checks in at 10
with his 0.66 ERA.

****
Redwolves will return the favor with a trip up Thursday. Dollar Beers and dollar soft drinks, they go together like Sharks Baseball and Front Street Brewery.

-J.W.

In his legendary broadcast career the Pirates Bob Prince, given the name "the Gunner" himself, bestowed nicknames on all sorts of Pittsburgh baseball players, legendary and pedestrian alike.

From Roberto "Arriba" Clemente, for Clemente's tremendous hustle and speed, to Dick "Double Dozen" Groat and Roy "the Baron(of the bullpen)" Face, Prince immortalized these Pirates in the hearts and minds of the Steel City faithful.

We're more than ten games into the season and, though lacking the resume of Prince, I think it’s high time this batch Wilmington Sharks had their own nicknames.

Now I never spoke with the Gunner but I'm sure he would advise that you can't force the creation of a good "nom de baseball." With that in mind, there have been some Sharks who have shown characteristics already that scream for a nickname.

So here for you, a preliminary list:

J.C. "Long Toss" Casey. The Missouri State right hander makes a habit of stretching out his arm with a bit of long toss from foul pole to foul pole.

Andrew "Mr. USA" Guerra. The man is the only Shark who stepped in front of the camera with Ms. USA beside him and has a baseball card to commemorate the moment.

Daniel "Duster" Cropper. With his team leading 14 K's to this point it's hard to argue with word play like Crop Duster.

Adam "the Steel Kid" Eggemeyer. A shout out to his Steeleville, Illinois home and his "play through anything" mentality.

****

Now that's only four, but like I say, you can't force these things. Stay tuned. There's sure to be more monikers and memories to come from this 2009 Wilmington Club.

-J.W.

(Enjoy Shooting the Shark? Tell your friends!)

With such a great response to yesterday's debut of Shark Bits for everyone to see, the Sharks Media Relations staff is at it again. We may just make this a habit here on "Shooting the Shark."

Shark Bits

Last Game Synopsis: The Sharks continued their tear with the
bats, racking up 11 hits but the barrage turned into just
four runs as they fell in Fayetteville 6-4 Monday night. A
solo home run from Adam Eggemeyer(4-4, 1R, 2RBI) in the
first had the Sharks up early. They would lead 2-0, and 4-2
but late pitching struggles allowed the Swampdogs to pull
away late. Starter Adam Schrader allowed three earned
working into the sixth while reliever Chris Kennedy was
tabbed with his first loss of 2009.

So Nice Twice: Tonight’s starter Daniel Cropper(1-0) has made
two quality starts at home this year picking up a no
decision in a 6-4 win over Columbia in his first start. The
UNCW righty then picked up his first win of the season
giving up just a run on four hits striking out seven in a
7-4 win over Wilson. Cropper is posting a 0.75 ERA on the
season.

Century Note: With 11 more hits Monday night the Sharks
became the first team in the CPL to collect 100 hits on the
season. Headed into tonight’s ball-game the Sharks have a
total of 103 base knocks and a team average of .275.

A Tale of Two Adams: Outfielder Adam Eggemeyer and infielder
Adam Gray of the Sharks have more in common than their
obvious first name connection. Namely, both are sporting
batting averages at or above .400, good enough to put both
Wilmington hitters in the top five in the CPL. Eggemeyer’s
.439 is second in the league while Gray’s even .400 brings
him in at number four.

Speaking of the Leaderboard: As more and more pitchers allow
their first runs of the season around the league, the true
pitching leaders are emerging. Rounding out the top 10, the
Sharks own J.C. Casey(1-0) with his 0.66 ERA in 13.2
innings.

 ***

Keep checking back for more on "Shooting the Shark." Its baseball and we'll do it again tomorrow, but first there's a game tonight. At 7. Its Thirsty Thursday. Come on out.

-J.W.