Bulls Close Out Regular Season In Walkoff Fashion
September 6, 2010 - International League (IL1)
Durham Bulls News Release
Durham, NC - The Bulls 2010 regular season ended in dramatic fashion, as Leslie Anderson drove home the game-winning run with a bases loaded single in the 12th inning to give Durham a 6-5 victory over Norfolk. The Bulls close out the regular season with a record of 88-55, their best since becoming a Triple-A team in 1998, and one game short of their all-time record of 89 wins set in 1962.
Durham got on the board first in the second inning, getting to Norfolk right-hander Tim Bascom for a run. Joe Dillon singled to right field and advanced to third on a single by Omar Luna. A sacrifice fly by Kyle Holloway brought home Dillon with the first run of the game as the Bulls went ahead 1-0.
Norfolk tied the game in the top of the third with a run off left-hander Bobby Livingston, but Joe Dillon put the Bulls back on top in the bottom of the inning with a two-run blast to left to make it 3-1. It was Dillon's ninth home run of the season, giving him 57 RBI for the year.
Livingston ran into trouble in the fourth inning, but a pair of nice defensive plays held the Tides to just one run. With the bases loaded and one out, a line drive off the bat of Phillip Britton was knocked down by Livingston who flipped it to home. The throw pulled catcher Kyle Holloway off the plate, but was able to dive back and touch it with his glove before Scott Moore could come across. Matt Angle followed with an RBI single to left, but Leslie Anderson gunned down the potential tying run at home plate to keep the Bulls one-run lead intact.
Durham added a single tally in the bottom of the inning, as Omar Luna hit his first home run of the season over the Blue Monster in left field to make it 4-2. Luna had just three home runs in his professional career coming into the game, his last coming June 3, 2008 as a member of the Class A Columbus Catfish. He finished the day 3-5, ending the 2010 regular season with a .291 average in his first year in Triple-A.
The Bulls added another run in the sixth, when Leslie Anderson singled and came around to score later in the inning when Holloway grounded into a double play.
Norfolk would come back to tie the game with runs in the seventh and eighth innings against Bulls right-hander Paul Phillips, who joined the team before the game after a promotion from Double-A Montgomery. Michael Aubrey's RBI groundout made it a one run game in the seventh, and former Bull Rhyne Hughes' solo home run in the eighth made it a 5-5 game as the two teams headed for extra innings.
The Bulls finally got to Norfolk left-hander Mike Hinckley in the bottom of the 12th, as Justin Ruggiano lined the first pitch he saw into the gap for a leadoff double. Nevin Ashley followed with a sacrifice bunt attempt, and Ruggiano slid in safely at third ahead of the tag. After an intentional walk to load the bases, Leslie Anderson lined a ball down the line in left field as Ruggiano came across with the winning run. Phillips got the win for the Bulls, his first in Triple-A after tossing 6.0 innings of relief.
With the regular season now complete, the Bulls will head to the Louisville to begin the first round of the Governors' Cup playoffs against the West Division Champions. Games one and two will take place in Louisville on Wednesday and Thursday, and the Bulls return home to Durham Bulls Athletic Park on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. for game three. Tickets are available at www.durhambulls.com or by phone at (919) 956-BULL.
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