For the second consecutive night, the Wilmington Sharks took an early lead over the Fayetteville Swampdogs and again posted a double-digit score as they will advance to the second round of the 2011 CPL Petitt Cup playoffs after a 12-1 win over the host Swampdogs Saturday night.

The Sharks will begin the second round with a home game on Monday night against Edenton, with gates opening at 6 p.m. and first pitch scheduled for 7:05.

The Sharks open Round Two on Monday night at home at 7:05 with gates opening at 6 p.m.

To go along with the offense, the Sharks received their second-consecutive solid start, this time from Jake Mayers, who finished his night with seven innings pitched while giving up just four hits and one run as he struck out 10 Fayetteville batters.

Offensively, the Sharks scored one run in the top of the second inning before seeing Fayetteville tie the game in the bottom of the inning with a run of their own. Wilmington never looked back from there, scoring two runs in both the third and fifth innings before posting a six-run seventh inning in the win.

Kenny Bryant led the Sharks with a four-hit, two RBI night and Alex Freedman tallied three hits in the win. Mayers, Justyn Carter, and Aaron Preston and Cam Cockman each had two-hit nights, with Cockman tallying three RBIs, Carter finishing with two RBIs and Mayers and Preston had an RBI apiece.

In the second inning, Jake Mayers started the inning with a single to left-center field before advancing around the bases via a wild pitch and bunt, he was driven home on Cockman’s single into left field.

After Fayetteville scored its run in the bottom of the second after a leadoff double, the Sharks never looked back in the win.

In the third inning, Preston opened the frame with a triple into the right field corner before Carter followed with a single of his own to bring home Preston. Two batters later with Carter at third base, Aldrich grounded into a double play that gave him an RBI as Carter came home to score.

Kenny Bryant opened the sixth with a bunt single before Cockman joined him on the basepaths as he reached on an error. Two batters later, Preston stepped in and singled home Bryant before Cockman also came home after the ball was bobbled in left field.

The Sharks blew the game open in the seventh, as they sent 11 batters to the plate.

Freedman walked to begin the inning before Aldrich followed with a single into the right field corner to put runners at first and third as Jake Mayers delivered an RBI single to right that plated Freedman as Aldrich advanced to third. Bryant continued the hitting line with a single of his own into right field that brought Aldrich home.

Cockman stepped in and drove home runs No. three and four of the inning when he singled to left field and Mayers and Bryant. After a Preston walk, Carter continued the inning with another single to left that plated Cockman before Preston later scored on a wild pitch for the sixth run of the inning.

Wilmington added one final run in the ninth as Freedman singled before Bryant doubled to right-center to bring home run No. 12 of the night.

The Sharks will open the Second Round of the 2011 CPL Petitt Cup playoffs on Monday night as they will take on the Edenton Steamers at 7:05 with gates opening at 6 p.m. Tickets can be obtained by calling the Sharks office at 343-5621.

The Wilmington Sharks made it very clear that they were not ready for their 2011 season to end, scoring multiple runs in four separate innings and pounded out 17 hits en route to a 13-3 win over the Fayetteville Swampdogs in Fayetteville on Friday night. The Sharks win now sets up a winner-take-all game three Saturday night, also in Fayetteville.

Chris Mazza struck out nine for his sixth win of 2011, while Daniel Aldrich blasted two HRs.

Daniel Aldrich continued his recent home run streak, blasting two homers to give him a home run in each of the Sharks last three games. Aldrich’s solo shot in Morehead City Tuesday night was the game-winner in the regular season finale and his opposite field shot last night tied Game One. Aldrich won the CPL Home Run Derby in Fayetteville back on July 17^th when he belted 18 homers.

Aldrich finished his night 3-for-5 with seven RBIs to lead the Sharks, Justyn Carter had two hits and two RBIs, while Emilio Pagan and Eric Mayers each tallied two hit nights for the visitors as well.

The Sharks posted two runs in their first at-bat to set the game’s tone, before plating four runs in the third inning and three runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to give starter Chris Mazza more than enough run support.

Mazza finished with nine strikeouts over seven complete innings to earn his sixth win of 2011. Mazza allowed just five hits and three walks while giving up the three Fayetteville runs.

In the first inning, Jake Mayers blasted a two-run homer that found its way just inside the left field foul pole to give the Sharks the early lead.

After Fayetteville plated a run in the bottom of the first and two runs in the bottom of the second to take the lead, the Sharks responded with a four-run third that was highlighted by Aldrich’s grand slam as Wilmington took the lead back and never looked back.

In the fifth, Aaron Preston broke out of his slump with an RBI single to right field that brought home Emilio Pagan before Justyn Carter singled back up the middle and picked up two RBIs as Moyer and Preston came home.

An inning later in the sixth, Kenny Bryant led off the inning with a double before Jake Mayers walked. With two on, it was again Aldrich who stepped to the plate and uncorked a rocket that got over the scoreboard in right field that had distance comparable to some of his shots in the CPL Home Run Derby.

The Sharks finished off the scoring in the ninth as Cam Cockman singled up the middle before advancing around the basepaths and scoring on a Scott Coleman RBI single.

Game Three of the series will be back in Fayetteville on Saturday night with the first pitch scheduled for 7:05. Jake Mayers is expected to start for the Sharks, while Alex Belew is the tentative starter for Fayetteville.

The Wilmington Sharks rallied back from an early deficit to tie the game on a Daniel Aldrich solo shot in the bottom of the seventh, only to watch their following chances be erased by the Fayetteville Swampdogs as the visitors posted a four spot in the top of the 11^th as they won Game One of the Best-of-Three Opening Round of the CPL Petitt Cup playoffs 5-1 in Wilmington Thursday night.

Daniel Aldrich had the game-tying home run in the bottom of the seventh, but the Sharks fell in game one of the CPL Petitt Cup playoffs Thursday night.

The Sharks now face the task of having to win back-to-back games in Fayetteville over the next two nights to keep their 2011 season alive.

After allowing an unearned run in the top of the first inning, Sharks starter Mat Batts did not factor in the decision despite going eight innings and allowing only three hits and walking two while striking out eight Swampdogs batters.

Aldrich finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a walk, while Justyn Carter also had two hits and a walk for the Sharks. Eric Mayers had the only other Wilmington hit.

The Sharks, who were held hitless until the bottom of the fifth when Aldrich singled, tied the game in the bottom of the seventh when Aldrich connected on an opposite-field homer to left-center field on a 1-2 pitch from Fayetteville starter Derek Brooks.

Wilmington had its chances to take the lead or win it in the eighth, ninth and tenth innings.

In the eighth, the Sharks got a two-out double from Eric Mayers before he advanced to third on a passed ball during Carter’s at-bat. After Carter drew a walk, Alex Freedman ended the inning and the opportunity with a hard grounder to second base.

In the ninth, Kenny Bryant led off the inning with a walk before he moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt from Jake Mayers. With Bryant representing the winning run on second, the Swampdogs wanted no part of Aldrich as they intentionally walked him to give the Sharks runners at first and second with one out.

Scott Coleman stepped in and popped out to the third baseman before pinch-hitter Jacob Leonardo flew out to right field to end the inning.

In the tenth, Carter reached with a two-out single before Freedman was hit by a pitch to set up another situation with runners at first and second.

Bryant stepped in and, on a 0-1 pitch, lifted the ball into shallow right-center field. The only Swampdog with a chance to make the play, second baseman Jay Cannon, made a full extension, running catch as he rolled to the ground and preserved the game.

In the top of the 11^th, Chris Dula came on to pitch for the Sharks and was charged with three earned runs on two walks and a hit-by-pitch in 2/3 of an inning before Tyler Deloach was brought in and allowed one run (on a bases loaded walk) on three hits before recording the final out of the inning.

After threatening the previous three innings, the Sharks went down in order in the bottom of the 11^th.

The Sharks will turn to Chris Mazza tomorrow night in Game Two as he will get the start for Wilmington and will square off against Dom Macaluso for the Fayetteville Swampdogs.  Game Three, if necessary, will also be in Fayetteville, on Saturday night.

Lefty Set to Start Game 1 Tonight

The Wilmington Sharks and the Coastal Plain League announced Thursday that Morehead City’s Joe Sclafani was named the Rawlings Hitter of the Week, while the Tri-Pitchers of the Week honors went to the Sharks’ Mat Batts, Asheboro’s Joshua White, and Florence’s Hunter Adkins for week nine of action (July 26 - August 2).

Batts threw a complete game against Florence in game one of the July 29 twin bill. The left-handed sophomore out of UNC Wilmington went seven innings, surrendering just four hits while striking out seven RedWolves. Those numbers gave the 6-0, 195-pound Batts the win and a perfect 0.00 ERA on the week.

Batts’ final CPL regular season stats come out to a 3-3 record with a 1.89 ERA, a mark that gives him the fourth-best ERA in the league. Batts finished with two complete games in 62.0 total innings of work and struck out 54 batters, tied for the most on the Sharks, while holding opponents to a .227 batting average.

Sclafani batted a league-best .500 average on the week with 14 hits. The junior from Dartmouth also had a pair of doubles, two homers and five runs scored, to go with a league-high 12 RBIs. Furthermore, Sclafani racked up 22 total bases, had a slugging percentage of .786, an on-base percentage of .559 and was walked five times.

On the mound, White, a junior at Limestone, finished the week with a perfect 0.00 ERA and 1-0 record. He made one start, throwing a complete game shutout on July 29 vs. Petersburg. In nine innings of work, the 6-0, 195-pound right-hander scattered just two hits, while walking one and striking out five. Further, he held opposing batters to just .067 against him.

Meanwhile, Adkins and Batts also threw complete game shutouts in their respective appearances. Adkins, a sophomore at Middle Tennessee State, had his come against Wilmington in game two of a doubleheader on July 29. The 6-4, 195-pound righty pitched seven innings of two-hit baseball, walked one and struck out eight to earn a 0.00 ERA and 1-0 record.

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 930 alumni drafted and 45 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 will head to the CPL Petitt Cup playoffs on a three-game winning streak after taking a 7-2 win over the Morehead City Marlins on Tuesday night in Morehead City.

With Gastonia also winning on Tuesday night, the Sharks will be the No. 7 seed in the Petitt Cup playoffs when the first round best-of-three series gets underway in Wilmington on Thursday night as the Sharks will face off against the Fayetteville Swampdogs, the No. 2 seed and their CPL South Division rival.

The 2011 CPL Petitt Cup playoffs begin Thursday as the Sharks host Fayetteville. Call the Sharks office at 343-5621 for ticket information.

Against Morehead City, the Sharks scored at least one run in each of the first four innings, highlighted by a three-run second inning.

Jeff Moyer led the Sharks with a 3-for-4 night with three RBIs, while Scott Coleman and Vickash Ramjit each had two-hit nights as Coleman also drove home one RBI in the win.

Daniel Aldrich and Aaron Preston also each tallied an RBI each for the visitors.

Sharks starter Zach Taylor earned his fourth win of the summer after tossing seven innings and allowing only two runs while striking out five Marlins and spreading out 11 hits over the seven innings.

In the top of the first, the Sharks jumped on the board early when K.J. McAllister led off the game with a walk before stealing second and scoring when Moyer singled back up the middle.

Morehead City responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the first off of three hits as the teams were tied after one inning.

The Sharks posted a three-run second inning, as Preston led off the inning with a walk before scoring two batters later on Chris Dula’s RBI single. After a McAllister groundout, Moyer delivered his second single in as many innings that plated Eric Mayers and Dula to up the lead to 5-1.

Another Wilmington run came in the third inning when Aldrich singled to open the inning and came around to score on Preston’s triple to right-center field two batters later. In the fourth, the Sharks posted two more runs when Coleman delivered an RBI single that plated McAllister and Aldrich picked up a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Moyer and upped the lead to 7-1.

Morehead City plated the final run of the night in the bottom of the seventh off of three hits, but it was nowhere near enough for the comeback.

The Sharks will open the 2011 CPL Petitt Cup playoffs at home against the Fayetteville Swampdogs on Thursday night with the gates opening at 6 p.m. and first pitch scheduled for 7:05. For ticket information, please call the Wilmington Sharks office at 343-5621.