A one run lead was not enough in the ninth inning as the visiting Gastonia Grizzlies tied it at four, then went on to win 5-4 in 12 innings over the Sharks Wednesday night.

Sean Toler(Missouri State) walked  the lead man in the ninth and that run came around to score on a wild pitch to send things to the bottom of the ninth. The Sharks had the go ahead run 90 feet away but could not cash it in to send things to the extra frames.

A run off of Ryan McGrath(Wake Forest) would prove the decider in the top of the 12th. Aside from the run scoring 12th McGrath pitched a solid four innings of relief striking out four. Starter Ryne Harper(Austin Peay) gave up just two earned through his seven innings of work and left the game with a 4-3 lead.

In a see-saw contest all the way the Sharks held a 4-3 lead thanks to a Greg Bachman(Austin Peay) solo home run and a high bounding RBI single off the bat of Adam Gray(Mercyhurst). Tied at 1-1 in the second Curt Courtwright(Missouri State) would blast a two out double off the wall in left to give the Sharks one of three leads they held on the night.

The Sharks will head on the road Thursday but will return to the "Shark Tank" Friday night to take on the Florence Redwolves. It's Jimmy Buffett Night and also Sharks pint glass give away night. Come on out early to be sure and get yours, supplies are limited. Gates open at 6 p.m. and the game starts at 7p.m.

The Wilmington Sharks are members of the summer collegiate Coastal Plain League, the nation’s hottest summer collegiate baseball league. In 2008 the Sharks drew more than 50,000 fans to the “Shark Tank” for an average of 1,650 per game. For more information on tickets, merchandise or advertising opportunities please call (910) 343.5621.

   Gastonia at Wilmington
                   Jun 24, 2009 at Wilmington, NC (Buck Hardee Field)

  Gastonia 5 (10-12)                            Wilmington 4 (10-14)

  Player                      AB  R  H BI       Player                      AB  R  H BI
  ---------------------------------------       ---------------------------------------
  Hamlet, M. dh..............  6  0  3  1       Christian Overstreet lf....  5  2  1  0
  Van Horn, G. ss............  6  0  0  0       Adam Gray dh...............  4  0  1  1
  Schram, G. 3b..............  4  2  1  1        Mike Rooney dh............  2  0  1  0
  McKoy, B. lf...............  5  0  1  0       Adam Eggemeyer cf..........  5  0  0  1
  Chester, D. 1b.............  3  0  0  0       Jesse Bosnik 2b............  4  0  0  0
   Canipe, S. 1b/c...........  0  0  0  0       Andrew Guerra rf...........  5  0  0  0
   Nelson, T. c..............  1  0  0  0       Alex Hill 1b...............  5  0  0  0
  Oduber, R. cf..............  5  2  2  1       Drew Wingo c...............  3  1  0  0
  Ashton, J. rf..............  5  0  0  0        Allen King c..............  1  0  0  0
  Stevens, W. c/1b...........  3  0  0  0       Greg Bachman 3b............  5  1  2  1
   Cuevas, J. 1b.............  0  1  0  0       Curt Courtwright ss........  5  0  2  1
  Wilson, R. 2b..............  4  0  2  0       Ryne Harper p..............  0  0  0  0
  Fishback, T. p.............  0  0  0  0        Chris Kennedy p...........  0  0  0  0
   Cestak, C. p..............  0  0  0  0        Sean Toler p..............  0  0  0  0
   Grant, S. p...............  0  0  0  0        Ryan McGrath p............  0  0  0  0
  Totals..................... 42  5  9  3       Totals..................... 44  4  7  4

  Score by Innings                        R  H  E
  -----------------------------------------------
  Gastonia............ 010 100 101 001 -  5  9  3
  Wilmington.......... 110 000 200 000 -  4  7  1
  -----------------------------------------------

  E - Van Horn, G.(6); Schram, G.(4); Stevens, W.(2); Wingo, D.(5). DP - Wilmington 1.
  LOB - Gastonia 6; Wilmington 10. 2B - Courtwright,(1). HR - Schram, G.(2); Oduber,
  R.(4); Bachman, G.(1). HBP - Wilson, R.; Wingo, D.. SB - Oduber, R. 2(10); Wilson,
  R.(11); Overstreet, 2(7); Courtwright,(1). CS - Wilson, R.(4); Hill, A.(2).

  Gastonia                       IP  H  R ER BB SO  WP BK HP IBB  AB BF  FO GO
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Fishback, T. ..............   6.1  5  4  4  4  3   0  0  1  0   24 29   6  9
  Cestak, C. ................   1.2  0  0  0  0  1   1  0  0  0    5  5   1  3
  Grant, S.  W,1-0...........   4.0  2  0  0  1  7   1  0  0  1   15 16   3  2

  Wilmington                     IP  H  R ER BB SO  WP BK HP IBB  AB BF  FO GO
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Ryne Harper ...............   7.0  6  3  2  0  4   0  0  0  0   26 26   9  7
  Chris Kennedy .............   1.0  0  0  0  0  1   0  0  0  0    3  3   1  1
  Sean Toler ................   0.0  1  1  1  2  0   2  0  0  1    1  3   0  0
  Ryan McGrath  L,0-2........   4.0  2  1  1  2  4   0  0  1  0   12 15   3  3

  WP - Cestak, C.(3); Grant, S.(3); Toler, S. 2(5). HBP - by Fishback, T. (Wingo, D.); by
  McGrath, R. (Wilson, R.). PB - Nelson, T.(1).

  Strikeouts - Van Horn, G.; McKoy, B.; Nelson, T.; Oduber, R. 2; Ashton, J.; Stevens,
  W. 2; Wilson, R.; Overstreet, 2; Eggemeyer, A 2; Bosnik, J.; Guerra, A.; Hill, A. 3;
  King, A.; Bachman, G.. Walks - Schram, G.; Chester, D.; Stevens, W. 2; Overstreet,;
  Eggemeyer, A; Bosnik, J. 2; Guerra, A..

  Umpires - HP: Aaron Reynolds  1B: Rene Barger
  Start: 7:05pm   Time: 3:33   Attendance: 1235

  Toler, S. faced 3 batters in the 9th.
  Game: WLM6-24