By Ed Farrell

Herald Assistant Sports Editor

Nolan Reimold’s ascent through the Baltimore Orioles’ organization currently is contained to Class AA. But based on his Bowie Baysox sheer numbers and contingent upon how the parent club’s season plays out, that could change.

Tuesday night Reimold ripped a pair of round-trippers — his 3rd consecutive contest that included a home run — as the Baysox bested the host Harrisburg Senators 8-7.

In addition to his pair of solo shots — giving him 4 during his current 3-game mini-surge — Reimold drilled a double and drew a walk. The Baysox’s bombers also include Lou Montanez and Jeff Nettles. Montanez mustered another pair of homers and has an Eastern League-leading 18 this summer, 2 more than Nettles.

Thus far this season the righthanded-hitting Reimold has recorded a .284 batting average, and 35 of his 87 hits have gone for extra bases, including 19 doubles, a trio of triples and 13 homers. In 83 games and 306 at-bats he had amassed 151 total bases and scored 50 runs. In addition, he had walked 38 times, compared with 42 strikeouts — an more than acceptable ratio for a power-hitting, middle-of-the-order hitter.

The 6-foot-4, 207-pound, 24-year-old Greenville native missed most of the 2007 season owing to a strained oblique, though in 50 games (44 at-bats) he hammered left-handed pitching for an .818 slugging percentage. However at the regular season’s conclusion Reimold headed west to the powerful Arizona Fall Instructional League. There, he launched a half-dozen ’dingers and was credited with 23 ribbies for the Phoenix Desert Dogs.

According to the Baysox’s web site, Baseball America projected him as the 4th-best prospect in the Orioles’ organization at the end of ’07. This is his 4th year of professional ball following stints for Class A Short Season Aberdeen (named the New York-Penn League’s top prospect in ’05) and Frederick (a Carolina League all-star and Major League Baseball All-Star Futures’ game selection), prior to a promotion to AA Bowie.

Currently, Bowie (48-36) stands 2nd to the Akron Aeros (50-32) in the Eastern League’s Southern Division, and the Baysox will be in the area July 8-10 for a trio of 7:05 p.m. games in Akron.

A son of Dr. John and Mary Reimold, he is a former 2-sport standout at Kennedy Catholic High who matriculated at Bowling Green University where he was reunited with older brother John.

While his older brother enjoyed a standout cage career for the Falcons, the younger Reimold emerged as an All-American diamondman. Ultimately, he was chosen the 2005 Mid-American Conference player of the year following a 20-homer, 62-RBI junior season. He was taken by the Orioles in the 2nd round of that spring’s annual MLB amateur draft, the 61st player chosen overall.