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The finalists are hardly strangers, having battled the entire season in a heated race to win the IL South Division.

The Durham Bulls were ultimately victorious, taking the division by 2.0 games and moving on to sweep Toledo in the first round to advance to the finals for the first time since winning the Governors' Cup in 2002 and 2003.

The Richmond Braves won the Wild Card entry into the postseason and promptly dispatched of the League's best regular season team (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre) in four games to reach the finals for the first time since 2004.

In the League's pre-determined playoff format, the Bulls will host Games 1 and 2 tomorrow and Wednesday before the series shifts to Richmond for the final three games of the series (as necessary).

With no off-day between the sites, the best-of-5 affair is scheduled to be completed no later than Saturday night.

Durham and Richmond an Exciting Matchup in 2007

There has already been a lot of great baseball played between the Bulls and Braves this season, particularly down the stretch as the teams battled for postseason positioning.

The series was split 8-8, but Durham won four of the six games played in August.

Here's a recap of the 16-game season series:

Date, location / Score / W / L / S
5/05 @ RIC* / Richmond 11, Durham 2 / Jake Stevens / Mitch Talbot
5/06 @ RIC / Richmond 2, Durham 0 / Buddy Carlyle / Jason Hammel
5/11 @ DUR / Richmond 3, Durham 0 / Buddy Carlyle / Jason Hammel / Manny Acosta
5/12 @ DUR / Richmond 4, Durham 3 / Ryan Basner / Scott Dohmann / Buddy Hernandez
5/13 @ DUR / Richmond 8, Durham 1 / Mark Redman / Jeff Niemann
5/14 @ DUR / Durham 3, Richmond 1 / Andy Sonnanstine / Macay McBride / Seth McClung
6/22 @ RIC / Durham 1, Richmond 0 / Jae Seo / Buddy Hernandez / Chad Orvella
6/23 @ RIC / Richmond 5, Durham 4 / Manny Acosta / Jeff Ridgway
6/24 @ RIC / Durham 4, Richmond 1 / Jeff Niemann / Ryan Baerlocher / Scott Dohmann
6/25 @ RIC / Durham 8, Richmond 5 / Jae Kuk Ryu / Lance Cormier / Chad Orvella
8/21 @ DUR / Durham 8, Richmond 5 / Jay Witasick / Trey Hodges / Chad Orvella
8/22 @ DUR / Durham 8, Richmond 2 / J.P. Howell / Kevin Barry
8/23 @ DUR / Richmond 9, Durham 8 / Zach Schreiber / Chad Orvella / Joey Devine
8/24 @ DUR / Durham 5, Richmond 2 / Mitch Talbot / Blaine Boyer / Jeff Ridgway
8/29 @ RIC / Richmond 2, Durham 1 / Blaine Boyer / Mitch Talbot / Joey Devine
8/30 @ RIC / Durham 5, Richmond 1 / Jae Kuk Ryu / Dan Smith
* Game suspended, completed on 5/06

A closer look at the stats in the season series gives seemingly mixed results. Durham's batters hit nearly 40 points higher in the 16 games, but Richmond's pitching staff turned in a much lower ERA than that of the Bulls. Amazingly, each team scored exactly 61 runs against the other.

TEAM ERA vs. Opponent: Durham 3.57, Richmond 3.13
BATTING AVG. vs. Opponent: Durham .265, Richmond .226
HOME RUNS vs. Opponent: Durham 15, Richmond 11

Durham sweeps two-time defending champions to advance to finals

The Durham Bulls pulled off a shocking sweep of the Toledo Mud Hens in the first round of the playoffs, although the Bulls are hardly inexperienced in postseason play. Durham has made the playoffs in seven of the franchise's first ten years in the International League, and the Bulls now look to secure their third Governors' Cup. Heroes were plentiful for manager Charlie Montoyo in the first round sweep, as Durham pounded out 25 runs in three games against one of the League's best pitching staffs. The Bulls, who led the International League with 146 regular season home runs, crushed ten more against Toledo. As a team, Durham hit .349 in the series, posting an on-base percentage of .444 and a slugging percentage of .689. Ten different Bulls drove in runs, including seven with multiple RBI, and five batters hit better than .400. The pitching was more than adequate, posting a 3.00 ERA. Each of the three starters was difficult to touch, as evidenced by an impressive strikeout total. J.P. Howell struck out nine in 5.2 IP, Jeff Niemann whiffed seven in 5.0 IP, and Jae Seo struck out seven batters in 7.0 IP. The major concern for Montoyo heading into the finals might be his club's defense, which committed five errors that led to six unearned runs against Toledo.

Playoff Stars for Durham
3B Evan Longoria -- hit .462 (6-13) with a double, 2 HR and 4 RBIs
OF Justin Ruggiano -- hit .462 (6-13) with 2 HR and 5 RBIs
RHP Chad Orvella -- reliever held Mud Hens scoreless in 3.0 IP over 2 games
2B Elliot Johnson -- homered twice, hitting .444 for the series
OF Jon Weber -- clubbed two homers, scored four times, and hit .385

Braves come through in the clutch to defeat Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

While Durham was pounding the ball all over the place to win their series, the Richmond Braves relied on a combination of tough pitching and timely hitting to get past Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in their own first round affair. Despite winning the series 3 games to 1, Richmond only outscored the Yankees, 17-15, and collected just three more hits than their opponents. After the teams split the first two games in Richmond, the Braves won Games 3 and 4 on the road thanks to a pair of late-inning rallies that propelled manager Dave Brundage's club into the finals. In the third game, Richmond scored four times with two outs in the 8th inning, thanks to RBI hits from Larry Bigbie, Doug Clark, and Carlos Mendez, and the Braves held on to win 6-4. In Game 4 Saturday afternoon, Richmond trailed by two in the top of the 9th until Iker Franco tied the game with a two-run single, which was followed by a Derrick Arnold sacrifice fly that gave the Braves a 4-3 lead. In both games, Joey Devine closed the door in the bottom of the 9th, sending the Braves back to the finals for the first time since 2004. Richmond will undoubtedly need more clutch performances like those to knock off the Bulls. The Braves hit .274 for the series, a full 75 points lower than the average posted by Durham against Toledo. Richmond did not homer, while Durham went deep ten times.

Playoff Stars for Richmond
SS Brent Lillibridge -- hit .389 (7-18) and led team with 4 runs scored
RHP Joey Devine -- saved all three victories in first round win
DH Larry Bigbie -- led Braves with .556 average (5-9) and 4 RBIs
C Iker Franco -- two-run single in 9th inning of Game 4 was series' biggest hit
RHP Buddy Hernandez -- 3.0 scoreless innings out of bullpen

Governors' Cup playoff notes

** If the Durham Bulls are victorious in the 2007 Finals, it will give the club its third Governors' Cup in the last six years. The last team to achieve that feat was the Columbus Clippers, who won titles in 1991, 1992, and 1996. It would also mark the sixth consecutive time an American League affiliate has won the Governors' Cup, a string begun with Durham's back-to-back championships in 2002 and 2003, followed by Buffalo (Cleveland) in 2004, and Toledo (Detroit) in 2005 and 2006. The Bulls are making their fifth appearance in the finals since joining the IL in 1998. The franchise is 9-6 over the first four series, including sweeps over Buffalo and Pawtucket.

** The Richmond Braves are attempting to win the Governors' Cup for the fifth time. The franchise last won the championship in 1994, sweeping Syracuse three straight. Since then, the Braves' only win in a playoff series before this year came in 2004 against Columbus (3-2), but Richmond lost in the finals 3 games to 1 versus Buffalo. 2007 marks the 22nd IL postseason appearance for the Richmond club, which ties them for the 4th-most in history with Buffalo, trailing only Rochester (43), Syracuse (25), and Columbus (24). Dave Brundage looks to join Tommie Aaron (1978), Roy Majtyka (1986), Jim Beauchamp (1989), and Grady Little (1994) on the short list of Richmond managers to win the Governors' Cup Championship.

** Since the IL realigned to its current three-division format in 1998, this is just the second time that two clubs from the IL South have met in the finals. In 1999, Charlotte defeated Durham in four games for the Governors' Cup title. The 2005 finals between Toledo and Indianapolis represent the only other time since 1998 that two teams from the same division squared off for the championship.

Miscellaneous statistics of note from the 2007 regular season:

Stat / Durham / Richmond
Home record: 40-32 / 37-34
Road record: 40-31 / 40-30
Score first record: 54-18 / 55-22
1-run game record: 22-19 / 21-19
2-run game record: 9-11 / 9-13
Extra inning record: 4-2 / 7-6
Lead after 7 innings: 66-8 / 65-3
Tied after 7 innings: 9-5 / 9-7
Trailing after 7 innings: 5-49 / 3-54
Lead after 8 innings: 69-5 / 58-1
Tied after 8 innings: 4-7 / 7-6
Trailing after 8 innings: 2-46 / 2-55

IL Champion will meet New Orleans or Sacramento in Bricktown Showdown

The Pacific Coast League Championship will be decided in a best-of-5 finals that gets underway tomorrow night in New Orleans between the Sacramento River Cats (Oakland A's) and New Orleans Zephyrs (New York Mets). New Orleans dispatched of Nashville 3 games to 1 in the first round, while Sacramento needed the full five games to defeat Salt Lake. The winner of the PCL Finals will face the Governors' Cup Champion in the winner-take-all Bricktown Showdown, live on ESPN2 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, Sept. 18 at Oklahoma City's AT&T Bricktown Ballpark to determine the true champion of Triple-A Baseball.

2007 Governors' Cup Playoffs
Durham Bulls vs. Richmond Braves
Season series tied, 8-8

# Game 1: Tuesday, Sept. 11 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, 7:00 p.m.
# Game 2: Wednesday, Sept. 12 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, 7:00 p.m.
Game 3: Thursday, Sept. 13 at The Diamond, 7:00 p.m.
Game 4: Friday, Sept. 14 at The Diamond, 7:00 p.m. *
Game 5: Saturday, Sept. 15 at The Diamond, 7:00 p.m. *
* denotes if necessary
# denotes game can be seen free on MiLB.TV (www.MiLB.com)

Playoff history -- Durham and Richmond have never met in the Governors' Cup playoffs

DURHAM BULLS (80-63, 3-0)
Manager: Charlie Montoyo (1st season)
Affiliate: Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Qualified: South Division Champion (+2.0)
Last Time in Playoffs: 2004
Previous Years in Playoffs: 6 yrs. / 25-13 (.658)
Last Governors' Cup: 2003
Team Batting Avg.: .262 / Team ERA: 3.59

Probable starting pitchers
G1: LH J.P. Howell (7-8, 3.38)
G2: RH Jeff Niemann (12-6, 3.98)
G3: RH Jae Seo (9-4, 3.69)
G4: RH Jae Kuk Ryu (5-4, 4.04)
G5: RH Mitch Talbot (13-9, 4.53)

Devil Rays' leaders:
Batting Avg.: J. Ruggiano (.309), C. Richard (.284)
Home Runs: J. Ruggiano (20), J. Guzman (16)
Runs Batted In: J. Ruggiano (73), J. Guzman (64)
Stolen Bases: J. Ruggiano (26), E. Johnson (16)
Victories: M. Talbot (13), J. Niemann (12)
Strikeouts: J. Howell (145), M. Talbot (124)
ERA: J. Howell (3.38), J. Niemann (3.98)
Saves: C. Orvella (20), 2 players with 5

Players to watch:
OF Justin Ruggiano -- Topps IL Player of the Month for August; IL All-Star
OF Jason Pridie -- Hit .318 with 10 HR and 39 RBIs in last 10 weeks of season
LHP J.P. Howell -- Led International League with145 K in 128.0 IP
RHP Jae Seo -- 3-time IL Pitcher-of-the-Week since joining Bulls in mid-June
RHP Mitch Talbot -- Tied for IL lead with 13 W; 3rd with 161.0 IP

RICHMOND BRAVES (77-64, 3-1)
Manager: Dave Brundage (1st season)
Affiliate: Atlanta Braves
Qualified: Wild Card (+1.5)
Last Time in Playoffs: 2004
Previous Years in Playoffs: 21 yrs. / 62-70 (.470)
Last Governors' Cup: 1994
Team Batting Avg.: .271 / Team ERA: 3.97

Probable starting pitchers
G1: RH Jeff Bennett (3-5, 3.35)
G2: RH Blaine Boyer (4-3, 4.30)
G3: LH Francisley Bueno (1-0, 2.79)
G4: RH Kevin Barry (5-7, 4.14)
G5: To Be Determined

Braves' leaders:
Batting Avg.: M. Prado (.316), G. Blanco (.282)
Home Runs: D. Clark (15), 2 players with 10
Runs Batted In: D. Clark (69), W. Timmons (52)
Stolen Bases: B. Lillibridge (28), G. Blanco (23)
Victories: M. Acosta (9), B. Hernandez (9)
Strikeouts: K. Barry (83), T. Hodges (81)
ERA: K. Barry (4.14), T. Hodges (4.72)
Saves: M. Acosta (12), J. Devine (4)

Players to watch:
1B Barbaro Canizares -- Hit .364 with 20 RBIs in last five weeks of season
RHP Phil Stockman -- 1.72 ERA in 9 appearances, held opponents to .132 avg.
OF Brandon Jones -- Hit .353 in first full month in Triple-A this August
OF Doug Clark -- Led Braves in HR (15), RBIs (69) and games played (134)
SS Brent Lillibridge -- Speedy shortstop hit .287 in 87 games

2007 Durham playoff individual statistics (W-L record: 3-0)

BATTER / AVG. / G / AB / R / H / 2B / 3B / HR / RBI / BB / SO / SB / CS / OBP / SLG
Bankston, Wes / 0.375 / 2 / 8 / 2 / 3 / 1 / 0 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0.375 / 0.875
Butler, Brent / 0.200 / 1 / 5 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0.200 / 0.200
Casanova, Raul / 0.250 / 1 / 4 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0.400 / 0.250
Hernandez, Michel / 0.125 / 2 / 8 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 2 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0.300 / 0.125
Johnson, Elliot / 0.444 / 3 / 9 / 3 / 4 / 1 / 1 / 2 / 2 / 2 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0.545 / 1.444
Longoria, Evan / 0.462 / 3 / 13 / 2 / 6 / 1 / 0 / 2 / 4 / 2 / 3 / 0 / 0 / 0.533 / 1.000
Owens, Jeremy / 0.667 / 3 / 3 / 1 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 0.667 / 0.667
Pridie, Jason / 0.222 / 3 / 9 / 3 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 2 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0.417 / 0.556
Richard, Chris / 0.500 / 3 / 12 / 2 / 6 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 3 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0.600 / 0.583
Ruggiano, Justin / 0.462 / 3 / 13 / 4 / 6 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 5 / 2 / 6 / 0 / 1 / 0.533 / 0.923
Velandia, Jorge / 0.000 / 3 / 9 / 3 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 2 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0.167 / 0.000
Weber, Jon / 0.385 / 3 / 13 / 4 / 5 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 3 / 2 / 4 / 0 / 0 / 0.467 / 0.846
TOTAL / 0.349 / 3 / 106 / 25 / 37 / 4 / 1 / 10 / 23 / 18 / 27 / 1 / 1 / 0.444 / 0.689

PITCHER / W-L / ERA / G / GS / CG / SHO / SV / IP / H / R / ER / HR / BB / SO / AVG
Camp, Shawn / 0-0 / 3 / 3 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 3.0 / 3 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 1 / 4 / 0.273
Howell, J.P. / 0-0 / 1.59 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 5.2 / 3 / 7 / 1 / 1 / 2 / 9 / 0.143
Niemann, Jeff / 1-0 / 3.6 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 5.0 / 5 / 2 / 2 / 0 / 4 / 7 / 0.250
Orvella, Chad / 1-0 / 0 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 3.0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 3 / 0.000
Ridgway, Jeff / 1-0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0.1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 1 / 0.000
Seo, Jae / 0-0 / 2.57 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 7.0 / 5 / 2 / 2 / 1 / 2 / 7 / 0.200
Shackelford, Brian / 0-0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1.1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0.000
Thayer, Dale / 0-0 / 16.2 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1.2 / 5 / 3 / 3 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0.556
TOTAL / 3-0 / 3 / 3 / 3 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 27.0 / 21 / 15 / 9 / 2 / 11 / 32 / 0.208

2007 Richmond playoff individual statistics (W-L record: 3-1)

BATTER / AVG. / G / AB / R / H / 2B / 3B / HR / RBI / BB / SO / SB / CS / OBP / SLG
Arnold, Derrick / 0.000 / 2 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0.000 / 0.000
Bigbie, Larry / 0.556 / 4 / 9 / 3 / 5 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 4 / 4 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0.692 / 0.667
Blanco, Gregor / 0.286 / 4 / 14 / 2 / 4 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 4 / 0 / 1 / 0.444 / 0.286
Canizares, Barbaro / 0.286 / 4 / 7 / 0 / 2 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 1 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0.364 / 0.429
Clark, Doug / 0.188 / 4 / 16 / 3 / 3 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 1 / 4 / 0 / 0 / 0.235 / 0.250
Franco, Iker / 0.286 / 4 / 14 / 0 / 4 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 1 / 2 / 0 / 1 / 0.333 / 0.357
Jones, Brandon / 0.235 / 4 / 17 / 2 / 4 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 4 / 1 / 0 / 0.278 / 0.235
Lillibridge, Brent / 0.389 / 4 / 18 / 4 / 7 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 3 / 0 / 1 / 0.389 / 0.389
Mendez, Carlos / 0.154 / 4 / 13 / 0 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 0 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0.154 / 0.154
Rozema, Mike / 0.273 / 4 / 11 / 1 / 3 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0.273 / 0.455
Timmons, Wes / 0.200 / 4 / 15 / 2 / 3 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0.250 / 0.333
TOTAL / 0.274 / 4 / 135 / 17 / 37 / 6 / 1 / 0 / 16 / 10 / 25 / 1 / 3 / 0.336 / 0.333

PITCHER / W-L / ERA / G / GS / CG / SHO / SV / IP / H / R / ER / HR / BB / SO / AVG
Barry, Kevin / 0-0 / 6 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 3.0 / 2 / 2 / 2 / 1 / 3 / 3 / 0.182
Basner, Ryan / 0-0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1.0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0.000
Bennett, Jeff / 1-0 / 1.69 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 5.1 / 4 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 2 / 1 / 0.211
Boyer, Blaine / 0-0 / 5.4 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 5.0 / 4 / 3 / 3 / 0 / 2 / 4 / 0.211
Bueno, Francisely / 0-0 / 7.2 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 5.0 / 7 / 4 / 4 / 2 / 1 / 6 / 0.333
Devine, Joey / 0-0 / 2.45 / 3 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 3 / 3.2 / 5 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 1 / 2 / 0.313
Hernandez, Buddy / 0-0 / 0 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 3.0 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 0.182
Hodges, Trey / 0-0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2.0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 2 / 0.167
Paronto, Chad / 0-0 / 2.45 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 3.2 / 4 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 1 / 4 / 0.267
Schreiber, Zach / 0-0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2.0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 2 / 0.143
Smith, Dan / 1-0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1.0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0.500
Stockman, Phil / 1-1 / 7.71 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2.1 / 3 / 3 / 2 / 0 / 2 / 1 / 0.300
TOTAL / 3-1 / 3.41 / 4 / 4 / 0 / 0 / 3 / 37.0 / 34 / 15 / 14 / 4 / 16 / 27 / 0.243

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