John Shelby III Blasts 3 HR's in Warthogs 8-5 Win Over Wilmington
May 3, 2008 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release
WINSTON-SALEM, NC - John Shelby III blasted three home runs and powered the Winston-Salem Warthogs to an 8-5 win over the Wilmington Blue Rocks in front of a packed house at Ernie Shore Field on Saturday night. Shelby, who was playing in his second game after missing over two weeks with a pulled hamstring, tied the Carolina League record for home runs in a game, a feat most recently accomplished by Aramando Camacaro of Kinston on July 26, 2007.
The Warthogs took an early lead as Shelby III smacked a solo home run off Wilmington starting pitcher Everett Teaford in the first inning. It was Shelby's first home run of the season and gave Winston-Salem a brief 1-0 lead.
The Blue Rocks regained the advantage in the second inning with a pair of runs courtesy of three infield singles and an error. After retiring the first two batters, Warthogs starting pitcher Matt Long surrendered consecutive infield hits to put runners on the corners. An error by Brandon Allen on a pickoff attempt allowed Jarrod Dyson to score the tying run. Derrick Robinson followed with an RBI infield single to score Brett Bigler and give Wilmington a 2-1 lead.
Shelby III struck again in the fifth inning with a two-run home run over the right field wall to give the Warthogs a 3-2 lead. Brandon Allen purchased a ticket to the home run party with a solo shot in the sixth inning. The Warthogs added three more runs in the seventh inning when C.J. Lang singled and scored when Paulo Orlando's single was misplayed by Wilmington right fielder Jarrod Dyson. Shelby III followed with his third blast of the game to extend the Winston-Salem lead to 7-2.
The home run parade continued as C.J. Retherford crushed a solo home run off Wilmington reliever Gilbert De La Vara in the eighth inning. The five round-trippers was a season-high for Winston-Salem in a game and equaled the amount of home runs hit by Wilmington this season. The Blue Rocks mounted a two-out rally in the ninth that produced three runs, but it was not enough to overcome the Warthogs power display.
Matt Long (2-2), who was making his first start of the season, was sharp in his five innings of work. He limited the Blue Rocks to two runs on four hits with five strikeouts to collect the win. Warthog's reliever Matt Zaleski tossed the final four frames to earn the save. Teaford (2-1) allowed four runs on three home runs in six innings to take the loss for Wilmington.
Winston-Salem and Wilmington will conclude their four-game series on Sunday afternoon at Ernie Shore Field. The Warthogs will send RHP Michael Dubee (2-1, 3.23) to the mound. The Blue Rocks will counter with RHP Matt Kniginyzky (0-2, 4.12). The first pitch is scheduled for 2 PM.
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