By MICHAEL RADANO
Courier-Post Staff
CAMDEN

As the inaugural season of Camden Riversharks baseball winds down, there are few things to play for.

Sure, personal pride and a spot on a roster or in a training camp can keep a player motivated. But for a losing team, there are few if any victories other than moral ones.

Wednesday, the Sharks picked up one of those moral victories.

Behind the pitching of Lincoln Mikkelson and the clutch hitting of most of the lineup, the Sharks beat Lehigh Valley 4-1 in front of 4,036 fans at Campbell's Field.

Mikkelson went eight strong innings, allowing only a solo home run to Harvey Hargrove in the fifth, and Jimmy Williams picked up his 22nd save after working a scoreless ninth.

The Sharks (23-33 half, 47-72 overall) secured the season series with Lehigh (37-84, 19-39) with the win. The Sharks finished with a 10-8 record against their South Division rival and won only one other season series - that was with the Long Island Ducks.

With the score tied at 1, Haddon Township High School graduate Brad Strauss singled with one out in the sixth inning. On a night when only one player in the starting lineup failed to get a hit, the Sharks took the lead for good as Raul Rodarte hit his fourth home run of the year. The ball was a high shot that casually sailed over the advertising wall in left.

With seven games left in the regular season, Mikkelson ( 4-5), who has been part of a surging pitching staff, has only one more scheduled start and will be looking to pull his record to .500.

•Fireworks canceled: The Sharks canceled the Fireworks Spectacular after the game. After last week's tragedies in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C., the fireworks display was called off because the FAA canceled all such demonstrations until further notice.

Email this story to a friend