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.