IronBirds' Craport homers, plates six

Trevor Craport had a few paths from which to choose following last month's Draft. Considering how things have gone for him in the past few weeks, he'd tell you he made the right decision.
In his eighth game as a professional, the Orioles' 11th-round pick homered and drove in six runs on Wednesday as Class A Short Season Aberdeen cruised to a 10-3 romp over Auburn at Falcon Park. He went 3-for-4 and fell a triple shy of the cycle.

Gameday box score
Facing seventh-ranked Nationals prospect Austin Voth, who was making a rehab start, Craport lined a two-run double to center field in the first inning to extend the IronBirds' lead to 3-0.
"I was just trying to work on the top side of the ball," the 20-year-old infielder said. "My last game that I played a couple of days ago, I had a couple of popups that I was trying to erase in batting practice the last few days. The biggest thing for me is to try to drive the ball and stay up the middle."
After grounding out against Yonathan Ramirez in the fourth, Craport responded with an RBI single to left in the fifth. Two innings later, he deposited the first pitch he saw over the left field fence for a three-run homer.
"I was looking for a fastball," he said. "The first two at-bats that I had against him, he had thrown me two fastballs away, so I was just trying to focus on staying toward right-center. When he threw that first pitch, I was just on time for it and ended up pulling it over the wall."
Craport sported a .336/.399/.502 slash line with five homers and 30 RBIs in 55 games last season as a junior at Georgia Tech before entering the Draft. After being selected by Baltimore, Craport weighed his options of playing in the Cape Cod League and going back for his senior season or starting his professional career right away.
"The situation presented itself and I had a good opportunity to play as a utility player for the Orioles. It was something I couldn't turn down," he said. "Being able to go back and finish my school whenever I want to will be something I'll definitely do, but it's something I can hold for now because this was a great opportunity for me and I couldn't pass it up."

In his first Minor League start on June 30, Craport lofted a solo homer for his first professional hit in a 3-0 win over Brooklyn.
"It was a great way to start the pro career," he said. "It's been a lot of fun playing professional baseball. I've always wanted to do it as a kid and getting a chance to do it for the Orioles has been something really special. And being able to be successful out of the gate, it's been a lot of fun for me."
Irving Ortega added a solo shot in the eighth for the IronBirds, who also got an RBI apiece from T.J. Nichting and Ben Breazeale .