After finishing the regular season in third place in the National League with a 6-6 record, the SeaWolves enter the playoffs with something to look forward to.  The Wolves ended the season strong with wins in three of their last five games and strong showings a couple of close losses.  "What this proves is that we can play with anybody in the league," said SeaWolves manager Stuart Gardner.  The SeaWolves' first playoff game is at 7:15 pm on Tuesday, September, 20 against the Orioles at Jack D. Hughes Memorial Park in Pineville.

The SeaWolves played another nail-biter tonight taking it to the wire with the division-leading Bats before falling in the seventh.  The Bats took an early lead with one run in the first inning and added two more in the third.  Both teams played solid defense and the game entered the sixth with the Bats ahead 3-0.

Chris Manriquez led off the sixth with a towering shot that everyone was sure was going to leave the park.  The ball fell just inside the left field fence and Manriquez coasted into second with a double.  Chris McDaniel followed with a double of his own to score Manriquez and then scored on yet another double by Michael Graham to bring the score to 3-2 at the end of six.

The Bats helped the Wolves out a little in the top of the seventh.  Jeremy Child led off the inning by reaching first on a Bats fielding error.  Phillip Strickland bunted for a single while attempting to sacrifice Child to second.  A throwing error on the play allowed Child to score and Strickland advanced all the way to third.  Justin Spencer followed with an RBI single to score Strickland.  Stuart Gardner, who came in to run for Spencer scored on the next play with an RBI double by Robert Lauro.  After advancing to third on the fielder’s choice attempt to throw out Gardner at home, Lauro scored as Chris McDaniel got his second RBI with a single to right.  The Wolves carried a 6-3 lead into the seventh.

The celebration was short lived though as the Wolves returned the favor in the bottom of the inning.  With two outs recorded, misplayed balls in the outfield allowed the Bats to even the score at six with a runner in scoring position.  The Bats capitalized with a walkoff base hit to win the game by a final score of 7-6.  Both starter Carl Madrazo and reliever Phillip Strickland were impressive on the mound and kept the Wolves in a position to win the game had a few more plays been made in the field.

In what would prove to me one of the more exciting games of the season, the SeaWolves played a tough game against the Orioles on Tuesday evening.   After two scorless innings, the visiting Orioles got on the board first with three runs in the top of the third inning.  The Wolves answered with four runs in the bottom of the inning following a pair of walks by Kurt Krueger and Jeremy Child and hits by Stephen Ramey, Robert Lauro and Justin Spencer.

The Orioles evened the score with one run in the top of the fourth and took the lead 5-4 with another run in the sixth.  The SeaWolves knotted the score again in the bottom of the sixth on a leadoff double by Chris Manriquez and an RBI single by Jason Ramey.

Unfortunately, the Orioles’ bats came alive in the seventh leading to five unanswered runs.  The final score was Orioles – 10, SeaWolves – 5.  SeaWolves starter Shawn Bufford looked good on the mound, but came away with a no decision.

Tonight’s game between the Charlotte Bats and the Carolina SeaWolves at Jack D. Hughes Memorial Park has been rained out.  The game will be rescheduled to 7:15 pm on Wednesday, September 14 at Rocky River High School.

The SeaWolves notched an impressive victory on Tuesday against the Charlotte Reds.  The Wolves jumped out to an early lead with an eight-run first inning with a combination of keen eyes at the plate drawing eight walks in the inning and Shawn Bufford's two-run double.  The Wolves spread an additional six runs across the remainder of the game to take the victory 14-5.

The team was led offensively by playmaker, Stephen Ramey who ended up 3-for-4 with four RBIs.  Phillip Strickland was the winning pitcher and a trio of relievers, Carl Madrazo, Shawn Bufford and Stephen Ramey closed out the game holding the Reds to a total of six hits.

In a game which lasted less than two hours, the SeaWolves made quick work of the Snappers in their second meeting of the season.  SeaWolves starter Robert Lauro and reliever Shawn Bufford combined for a five-hit performance and held the Snappers scoreless until the defense allowed an unearned run in the seventh.  The final score was 2-1 in favor of the SeaWolves.  Manager Stuart Gardner had this to say about his team. “Rob gave us what we needed for the first three and Shawn took charge for his four on the mound.  Our defense wasn't flawless, but we didn't let the river of errors continue as we have in the past.”

The hits didn’t come easily for the SeaWolves batters either thanks to a gutsy performance by the Snappers battery.  Jason Ramey led the Wolves with two singles and scored both of the team’s runs.  The deciding run in the sixth inning was orchestrated following Ramey's second single of the game.  Justin Spencer placed a perfect bunt down the first base line to move Ramey into scoring position.  After advancing to third on a wild pitch, Ramey scored on an infield single by Michael Mahan.

Mahan's defensive play saved the day for the SeaWolves in the seventh.  The Snappers managed to get the tying run in scoring position with nobody out and runners on second and third.  Mahan slid underneath a line drive to centerfield to make the grab and record the first out of the inning.  As the Snappers baserunner attempted to tag up from third and score on the play, Mahan popped to his feet and fired a throw to the plate.  The throw was relayed by Bufford to gun down the runner and record the second out.

The Snappers scored one run on the next play on a fielding error, but the Wolves closed out the game on a groundout to record the win.  Following the game an elated Jason Ramey remarked, “Just another great pitching performance from Robert and Shawn.  It seems like every night we go out the pitchers give us a chance to win.  When we play defense like we did tonight, we are tough to beat.  We had to manufacture our runs because their guy threw the ball well, but we kept plugging and got it done.  We are peaking at the right time.  Next Tuesday cannot get here quick enough!”

"It wasn't a perfect game, but we played well," remarked SeaWolves skipper Stuart Gardner as he walked back to the clubhouse following the Wolves' decisive victory over the division-leading Orioles on Tuesday night.  Indeed the Wolves did play well throughout the lineup and the 7-4 final score does not give a fair representation of how the SeaWolves were in command of the game throughout.

The SeaWolves jumped out to an early lead with two runs in the first inning.  Michael "Chainsaw" Graham and Jeremy Child led off the game with a pair of singles.  After Chris Manriquez was hit by a pitch, SeaWolves catcher and self-described "playmaker" Stephen Ramey delivered a bases-loaded hit to right-center to score Graham.  Child, who had held up to make sure the ball dropped, was put out at home by a good throw from the Orioles centerfielder.  Manriquez later crossed the plate on a fielder's choice by Jason Ramey.

SeaWolves starter Gardner, aided by the Wolves defense, did an excellent job keeping the Orioles off the scoreboard through his three innings of work.  Notable on defense again this week was shortstop Justin Spencer who along with centerfielder Mike Mahan each offered a couple of "highlight reel" worthy plays.

The Wolves struck again in the fourth following a leadoff single by Jason Ramey and a Spencer walk.  Chris McDaniel's attempt at a sacrifice bunt turned into a base hit as he beat the throw to first from the Orioles catcher with his lightning speed, however colliding with the Orioles first baseman as he stepped into the base path just before the throw arrived.  Following the collision, the throw squirted into right field scoring both Ramey and Spencer and sending McDaniel to second.

Jeff Rovinsky, who entered to run for the injured McDaniel, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on David Stringer's RBI single.  Shawn Bufford followed with a single of his own and put the Wolves in excellent scoring position again.  Stringer crossed the plate on another Orioles' wild pitch and following a walk by Child, Bufford scored on an errant pick-off attempt.

Bufford, in his second relief appearance of the season, continued to shut down the Orioles in the fourth and pitched very effectively for the remainder of the game to earn the save.  The Orioles remained scoreless until the bottom of the seventh when fielding errors by the SeaWolves almost let them back into the game.  The Orioles scored four runs in the inning, all unearned.  Bufford finally retired the side with his fifth strikeout of the game.

Said first baseman Jason Ramey, "That was a quality baseball team we beat tonight.  Stuart and Shawn were awesome on the mound, the defense made some plays behind them, and we hit the ball from the first inning on.  When we have our full compliment of players, we will be tough to beat."