Walk-off Wes! Bull Win Thriller In Tenth
June 1, 2007 - International League (IL1)
Durham Bulls News Release
Durham, NC - Wes Bankston ended a hard fought game in the bottom of the tenth inning with a two-out, walk-off home run, giving the Bulls a 5-4 victory over the Louisville Bats in front of a standing room only crowd of 10,473 on Friday night at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
The Bats forced the extra frame when Joey Votto, who went 3-4 with two RBI on the night, scored Raleigh native Josh Hamilton with an infield hit off of RHP Seth McClung in the eighth inning. The run tied the game at four, erasing the 4-3 advantage the Bulls earned with a three-run sixth inning. Bankston started the scoring in the sixth with a line drive to right to score Justin Ruggiano from third. Bankston was forced out at second on Chris Richard's grounder, but Jonny Gomes scored on the play and back-to-back singles eventually scored Richard to give the Bulls the one-run lead.
RHP Mitch Talbot allowed the Bats to take an early 3-1 lead after giving up a run in the first inning and two more in the second inning. Talbot settled in though and did not allow a run in the last four innings he pitched, finishing the night after six innings and allowing just the three runs, five hits, and three walks, while striking out five. For the Bats, starter RHP Tom Shearn settled in after giving up a lead-off home run to Ben Zobrist in the first inning, but he failed to record an out in the sixth inning after allowing two of the three runs the Bulls scored in the frame. He gave up a total of three runs, three hits and five walks, and struck out five.
RHP Ruddy Lugo (1-0) earned the win for the Bulls after pitching a perfect tenth inning, and RHP Steven Kelly (0-3) took the loss after giving up the walk-off home run to Bankston.
Hamilton, who is down with Louisville from the Cincinnati Reds on a rehab assignment, went 1-4 with a walk and a run on the night. He has already hit three home runs since joining the Bats on Tuesday.
The Bulls and Bats will meet again on Saturday night at 7 PM at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. For tickets, go to www.durhambulls.com or call the box office at (919) 956-BULL.
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