WILMINGTON, N.C. –The Wilmington Sharks brought forth both dominant pitching and timely hitting to down the Fayetteville SwampDogs 8-1 in front of 2,763 at Buck Hardee field Thursday night, a night after dropping a tough 15-13 game in 10 innings to Florence. 

Joe Wagstaff (W, 3-2) carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and allowed just one hit and one run over eight innings to pick up the win.

The Sharks (17-19, 3-5 CPL second half) didn’t cool off their bats from the night before as they erupted for five runs in the third inning. The first run came when Alex Hill scored on a throwing error by shortstop Nick Natoli. Nate Horton then singled to center, scoring Aaron Miller. After a Matt Willis groundout, Kenny Bryant hit a three run homerun to make it 5-0 Sharks. The home run was Bryant’s second on the year, the first in CPL action.  His other long ball came in exhibition action at Buck Hardee Field against the Catawba Valley Stars.  Bryant’s three RBIs on the night gave him a team-leading 19 on the year.

In the fourth, the Sharks showed they weren’t done scoring runs when they loaded the bases for Horton. SwampDogs starter Ryan Pricket (L, 3-2) then hit Horton on the arm to score Justin Robey to make it 6-0.

The SwampDogs got their lone run in the sixth when Corey LeVier singled, scoring Nathaniel Lami to make it 6-1 and put an end to Wagstaff’s no-hit bid. LeVier’s hit was the only hit Fayetteville got off Wagstaff.

Wilmington responded in the bottom of the sixth as they scored twice to make it 8-1. Willis’ single scored Joey Rapp.  Willis tried to steal second base with Nate Horton on third but he pulled up short of second base, drawing a throw from Fayetteville catcher Benton Yaun, and was tagged out heading back to first.  Horton came across to score before Willis was tagged out.

Wagstaff gave way to Patrick Szczerba in the ninth after a short light delay in the eighth. Eric Grabe got the second and last hit for the SwampDogs in the ninth, but Szczerba made up for it by getting a 5-4-3 double play to end the game.

The last two games have been an awakening for the Sharks offense; they’ve had 29 hits and 21 runs. Leading the way was Alex Hill, who went 3-4 with a run scored. Combined with Wednesday’s game, Hill is 9-11 at the plate in his last two games.  Aaron Miller went 2-5 with a run scored and Rapp went 2-4 with two runs scored.

Wilmington returns to action as they embark on a three game inter-divisional road trip over the weekend. Friday, July 9 will see the Sharks travel to face the Florence RedWolves. The Sharks then visit Morehead City on Saturday, July 10. After an off-day on Sunday, the Sharks travel to Columbia on Monday, July 12.

After the road trip, the Sharks return home for four home games in five days. The first of which is Big Splash on Tuesday, July 13 as they take on the SwampDogs.  Fans should expect to get wet as the Shark Tank is transformed into a water park. Tickets are $2 for all general admission seating and special kid’s menu pricing will be available at Sharky’s Snack Shack. Gates open at 10 a.m. and first pitch is at 11 a.m.