Bullpen falters late in Sharks loss

WILMINGTON, NC (WILMINGTONSHARKS.COM) — On a hot and muggy in Wilmington, the Sharks and SwampDogs met for the 12^th time this season. After losing its first five at home against Fayetteville, Wilmington was looking for its second in a row against the visitors.

In the bottom of the 1^st, Michael Sandle, Luke Morgan and Trevor McCutchin all hit 1 out singles to load the bases against SwampDogs starter Joey Gonzalez. Then, Danny Wondrack picked up where he left off before the All-Star break. The Sharks catcher lined a double down the left field line, which cleared the bases.  Wilmington did leave runners stranded on the corners with the 3-0 lead.

Wilmington added to its lead in the second frame. With 1 out, Justin Dean singled. The Sharks center fielder scored on the next play all the way from first base after a Michael Sandle blooped single into right field. Dean to advance to third on the hit and then scored on a throwing error by the right fielder Andrew Henrickson. Sandle, who advanced to third on the error, scored later in the inning on Luke Morgan’s sacrifice fly to right field.

The visitors threatened for the first time in the top half of the 5^th. Fayetteville loaded the bases with nobody out against Sharks starter Jonathan Jahn. The southpaw responded with three straight groundouts to end the threat unscathed.

The SwampDogs would have better luck the next time around in the 6^th inning. With runners on the corners and 1 out, Trent Franson singled against Sharks reliever Ryan Hall to put Fayetteville on the scoreboard. A Hall wild pitch moved the runners to second and third with just one away. Trevor McCutchin then robbed a base hit into right from Brett Helmbrecht but Matt Morrow tagged from third to cut the Sharks lead to three. The SwampDogs kept the inning alive with two outs Austin Edgette drove home a run and then a Jay Robinson single loaded the bases. Another wild pitch from Hall brought Fayetteville within 1. Hall’s night would come to a close after a Cam Locklear throwing error tied the game at 5. Colt Springs entered the game with two outs and runners on the corners in a 5-5 contest and got the first batter he faced to fly out to right.

In the 7^th, Fayetteville took the lead for the first time tonight against the Sharks. Justin Hawkins double to left and then came home to score on the RBI single by Trent Franson. Wilmington answered in the bottom of the frame. Michael Sandle singled with one out and advanced to third on a failed pickoff attempt. The freshman from South Alabama scored the tying run on Luke Morgan’s second sacrifice fly.

In the top of the 9^th, Fayetteville jumped back on top of Wilmington. Jayson Newman led off the inning with a single. Newman then advanced when Matt Morrow was hit by a pitch and took third on a wild pitch. Then with the bases loaded Newman scored on a ground ball back up the middle by Brett Helmbrecht.

The bottom of the ninth started with back-to-back strikeouts by Justin Dean and Michael Sandle. Luke Morgan then singled up the middle to put the tying run aboard. Trevor McCutchin then struck out looking to end the contest.

Fayetteville improves to 23-12 on the season and 9-3 against the Sharks. The loss drops Wilmington back below 0.500 to 18-19.

Griffin McLarty (5-0) scores the win, while Evan Brabrand (0-2) picks up the loss.

Wilmington hosts Morehead City tomorrow. First pitch from The Shark Tank is at 7:05. Coverage begins at 6:50 with Sharks Pregame on the CPL Webpass.