Perkins fans all he faces in pro debut

Shelton Perkins waited 8,212 days for his professional debut.
And then he made quick work of it.
Baltimore's 16th-round pick in this month's Draft struck out all six batters in two perfect innings of relief Thursday night in Class A Short Season Aberdeen's 4-3 loss to Brooklyn in 10 innings at Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium.

The 22-year-old entered in the seventh with the score tied, 3-3. He tossed 19 of 26 pitches for strikes.
"For sure, there were nerves," Perkins admitted. "You don't really know until you get here. I mean, you think you belong. ...Tonight, on the mound, I saw some of my James Madison teammates, some of my best friends, the JMU coaches in the stands. My family was having a watch party. ... And then I realized, it's just the same ol' game."
His first professional pitch was a ball to Yoel Romero. The at-bat ended three deliveries later with a swinging punchout. He fanned the next two batters, Luke Ritter and Joe Genord, on 3-2 pitches.
Gameday box score
Perkins said he felt he belonged after the first pitch. "As soon as I threw it, the ball was down," he said, "but the catcher [Luke Ringhofer] gave me a fist pump and liked the location.
"Between innings, I got a fist bump from the coaches on my way in. After that, I just sat down to focus. I had to keep the score where it was. I just wanted to do my job -- just me and the catcher -- and focus on each hitter."
In the eighth, the right-hander whiffed Jose Miguel Medina and Zach Rheams on six pitches. Perkins ended his debut with a 2-2 swing-and-miss strikeout of Ranfy Adon.
"I got cut my freshman year at East Carolina," he noted. "I was told I didn't throw good enough."
After transferring to JMU, the North Carolina native went 7-2 in 38 appearances across two seasons. In 70 innings, Perkins struck out 106, including 72 in 42 2/3 frames this season.
"After the [first] strikeout, while the infield was throwing the ball around, I had the chance to reflect for a moment," he said. "I've overcome a lot, and at that moment, I was like, 'Let's get it for all it's worth.'"

Orioles fourth-round pick Joseph Ortiz went 3-for-5 with an RBI to pace the IronBirds. Johnny Rizer, chosen in the seventh round, chipped in a double, a single, two walks, an RBI and a run.
Medina had two hits for the Cyclones, including a 10th-inning double that plated Romero.
Brooklyn's Brian Metoyer (1-0) picked up the win, allowing a hit and two walks while striking out one in three innings. Luis Silva earned his second save after yielding one hit in the 10th.
Yelin Rodriguez (1-1) surrendered a run on a hit and two walks in one inning. He struck out one.