Bulls Fall Short on Star Wars Night

DURHAM, NC - The Durham Bulls failed to stop a high-powered Gwinnett Stripers offense Saturday night at the DBAP, suffering a 10-0 defeat in front of a paid attendance of 10,382 on Star Wars Night. Jesse Biddle (1-0) recorded the win for Gwinnett in relief of starter Ben Rowen, while Bulls starter Arturo Reyes (0-1) tallied the loss for Durham.
The hits came early and often for the Stripers off Reyes, who was making his Bulls debut. Austin Riley got the scoring started on an RBI single in the first inning, in what was the beginning of a massive day for the Stripers third baseman.
Gwinnett put its foot on the gas in the top of the third inning, beginning with Andrés Blanco reaching on an error, allowing Sean Kazmar Jr. to score. Riley continued his big day with a two-run home run to extend the lead to 4-1. Pedro Florimón followed it up with a three-run home run and Travis Demeritte added a solo home run for good measure to take an 8-1 lead.
Despite chasing Reyes from the game, the Stripers and Riley were not finished, as Riley hit his second two-run homer of the game to take a 10-0 lead in the fourth inning. However, weather kept the lead at 10, with the game being called after five innings because of rain.
The Bulls will face off with the Stripers for the fourth of five games on Sunday at 5:05 pm. The Bulls will wrap up their series against Gwinnett on Monday at 1:05 pm at DBAP.