The Wilmington Sharks played their first of two consecutive doubleheaders in Florence on Friday night, winning game on over the RedWolves 4-0 before falling 3-0 in the nightcap in CPL South Division action.

The Sharks now sit at 12-11 after the split and stay put in second place in the South Division’s 2^nd Half after Fayetteville (1^st South, 14-9) had a walk-off win Friday night at home against Morehead City (3^rd South, 12-12).

The Sharks return home on Saturday when they host the Columbia Blowfish in a doubleheader inside the Shark Tank with the gates opening at 4 p.m. and game one’s first pitch set for 5:05 with game two to follow. The final Taco Bell postgame fireworks show of the summer will conclude the night.

The Wilmington Sharks fell to the visiting Fayetteville Swampdogs 9-5 in CPL South Division action on Thursday night, slipping to third in the South Division’s Second Half standings.

Fayetteville (13-9) came into the night a ½ game ahead of the Sharks (11-10) and one game ahead of the Morehead City Marlins, who improved to 12-11 after their win Thursday night. Morehead City takes over second place in the South, while the Sharks fall to third with a tough stretch ahead of them to close the regular season.

Jake Mayers led the Sharks with a three-hit night in Thurday night's loss.

Sharks starter Tommy Houmard (1-1) didn’t complete three innings in the start, going only 2-2/3 innings before leaving after allowing four runs on five hits.

The Sharks, however, received five full innings of relief from Tyler DeLoach that ate up innings from a bullpen that will be tested with back-to-back doubleheaders in Florence Friday and at home against Columbia on Saturday.

DeLoach allowed five runs, only one earned, over his five innings while striking out five batters and walking six Swampdogs.

Jake Mayers finished his night 3-for-5 with an RBI for the Sharks, while Scott Coleman was 2-for-2 with a single and RBI-double before being lifted defensively later in the game.

Vickash Ramjit brought home a pair of runs on two RBI groundouts while adding a hit, and Alex Freedman tallied a hit and RBI for the Sharks as well.

Wilmington had an early 1-0 lead after jumping ahead in the bottom of the second inning when Ramjit singled and later scored on Coleman’s RBI double to left field.

But Fayetteville responded with a four-run top of the third that ran Houmard from the game as the Swampdogs used three hits and a walk to take the lead.

Fayetteville added to their lead with a run in the fourth, two in the fifth and another in the sixth before adding a final run in the eighth inning.

The Sharks scored a run in the bottom of the fourth when Bryant doubled to left field before scoring on a Ramjit RBI groundout, but the Sharks left runners on first and third to end the inning.

In the fifth, the Sharks tacked on two more runs, but after having two more runners on base with no outs, they were unable to score another run in the inning.

Wilmington’s final run of the night came in the bottom of the seventh when Freedman led off the inning with a walk before Mayers singled to give them two runners on before Ramjit picked up his second RBI groundout of the night two batters later.

However, the Sharks ran themselves out of the inning after having runners on first and third when Daniel Aldrich was picked off to end the inning in their last good scoring chance of the night.

The Sharks now have the daunting task of playing back-to-back doubleheaders, first on Friday at Florence before hosting Columbia Saturday night with the first game set to begin at 5:05 with the gates opening at 4 p.m. and Taco Bell Postgame fireworks to follow.

The Sharks then play Morehead City three straight games to end the regular season, first hosting them on Sunday night in the final home game of the regular season before playing in Morehead City Monday and Tuesday nights to end the regular season.

The Wilmington Sharks received two pivotal hits in the bottom of the eighth as they came away 2-1 winners over the Florence RedWolves in CPL South Division action Wednesday night.

Alex Freedman had the game-winning hit in the Sharks' 2-1 win Wednesday night.

The win assures the Sharks (11-9) that they will keep pace with Fayetteville and Morehead City in the South Division race, as the Swampdogs and Marlins played each other Wednesday night in Fayetteville.

The Sharks and RedWolves (9-11) played a speed game through seven innings, as both starters mowed down hitters as there was a combined nine 1-2-3 innings between the teams going to the top of the eighth.

Florence broke through first, when Jacob German reached on a Sharks error with one out and was awarded second base after the ball got into the Sharks dugout area. A groundout advanced German to third before he scored on Blake Barber’s two-out single into left field.

Wilmington answered in the bottom of the eighth, first as Aaron Preston reached to open the inning before stealing second and advancing to third on a wild pitch. After Jeff Moyer struck out, Eric Mayers stepped in and delivered an RBI stand-up double to right-center field to tie the game at 1-1.

A Cam Cockman bunt moved Mayers to third base with two outs before Justyn Carter drew a full-count walk to give the Sharks runners at first and third. Alex Freedman drove the first pitch of his at-bat through the hole between the shortstop and third baseman to plate Mayers as the eventual game-winning run.

Ross Whitely came on out of the Sharks bullpen in the ninth and retired the RedWolves in order while striking out two for his eighth save of the summer.

Wilmington starter Zach Taylor (3-2) earned the win, delivering eight innings of four-hit baseball on the mound while striking out six Florence batters and allowing only the one, unearned run in the top of the eighth.

Kenny Bryant had a double in the second inning and Moyer singled in the fifth for the only other Sharks hits of the night along with Mayers’ and Freedman’s in the eighth.

The Sharks host the Fayetteville Swampdogs at 7:05 on Thursday night in the final Fat Tony’s Thirsty Thursday of the 2011 CPL regular season. Gates open at 6 p.m. for the important matchup in the South Division as the regular season comes down to its final days.

First Game Set for 5:05 p.m., Game Two and Fireworks to Follow

The Wilmington Sharks of the Coastal Plain League have announced that their game in Columbia on Wednesday, July 26 has been postponed due to rain and will now be made up as part of a doubleheader when the Blowfish come to Wilmington on Saturday night.

Saturday’s first game will begin at 5:05 p.m. with the gates opening at 4 p.m., with game two to follow game one before Taco Bell postgame fireworks will conclude the night.

Both games will be seven inning contests.

The Sharks now have a home game on Wednesday night against Florence and Thursday against Fayetteville with both games set for 7:05 first pitches with gates opening at 6 p.m. before now playing back-to-back doubleheaders on Friday in Florence and Saturday against Columbia. The Sharks close their home portion of the 2011 regular season on Sunday when Morehead City comes to town before Wilmington goes to Morehead City to close the regular season on Monday and Tuesday nights.

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 dropped two games to the Florence RedWolves in CPL South Division action Monday night, falling 4-3 in game one before losing 7-0 in the nightcap as they fell out of first place in the South Division.

With the two losses, the Sharks fall to 10-9 in the second half, while Fayetteville improved to 11-9 win a win over Columbia and Morehead City also sits on an 11-9 record after their loss to Martinsville Monday night. With their two wins over the Sharks, Florence suddenly sees itself moving into the playoff picture at 9-9 after the wins.

In game one, the Sharks outhit the RedWolves seven to three, but could not come up with the big hit, as seven different Wilmington players had one hit apiece.

Florence found themselves up 2-0 after two at-bats, scoring in the first off of one hit and one Sharks error and then in the second scoring without a hit as a leadoff walk came around to score and give the RedWolves the advantage.

The Sharks answered in the bottom of the second, when Emilio Pagan walked before sealing second base and advancing to third on a groundout by Scott Coleman before scoring on an RBI groundout from Jeff Moyer.

However, Florence came right back with two runs in the top of the third on one hit, one walk, a double steal and a pair of wild pitches to take a 4-1 lead.

Wilmington made it interesting by scoring a run in both the fifth and sixth innings, first in the fifth when Aaron Preston doubled before scoring on Alex Freedman’s RBI groundout two batters later, and then in the sixth when Kenny Bryant singled to open the inning before advancing around the bases with the help of a Pagan groundout and a Coleman single before scoring on a Moyer RBI groundout.

In the seventh, the Sharks put Justyn Carter on with a one out single before Freedman followed with a walk before the game ended in bizarre fashion.

Jake Mayers grounded up the middle as the Florence middle infielders retired Freedman on the force out at second base for out number two before throwing home and getting Carter, who was trying to score from second, at the plate for the third out of the inning and the final out of game one.

Chris O’Grady (2-3) took the loss on the mound for the Sharks in game one after going five innings and allowing three hits and four runs (three earned) while walking three and striking out two batters.

In the nightcap, the Sharks left nine men on base throughout the contest, highlighted by leaving the bases loaded in the second inning and twice leaving two runners on base.

With the score still at zeros in the second inning, the Sharks used singles by Daniel Aldrich, Moyer and Eric Mayers to load the bases before Freedman popped out to third base in foul territory to end the threat.

In the top of the third, Florence took the lead off of one hit and a Wilmington error before adding two more runs in the top of the fourth off of two hits and two Sharks errors to increase the lead.

Two two-run homers in the top of the seventh sealed the game for the RedWolves.

The Sharks travel to Columbia on Tuesday night before returning home to play Florence on Wednesday night with gates opening at 6 p.m. and first pitch scheduled for 7:05.