Lawreceville, GA --- The Durham Bulls scored twice in the ninth to break a 3-3 tie to lead first place Durham past second place Gwinnett 5-3 on Independence Day Thursday at Coolray Field.Nathan Lukes tripled to start the tie-breaking inning on a ball misplayed in deep left by Travis Demeritte.
Lawreceville, GA --- The Durham Bulls scored twice in the ninth to break a 3-3 tie to lead first place Durham past second place Gwinnett 5-3 on Independence Day Thursday at Coolray Field.
Nathan Lukes tripled to start the tie-breaking inning on a ball misplayed in deep left by Travis Demeritte. With the infield in, Jake Cronenworth knocked a single into left field to score Lukes for a 4-3 lead. After an errant pickoff throw by reliever Wes Parsons (L, 2-2) that moved Cronenworth to second, Joe McCarthy singled to left with two outs to bring Cronenworth home for a 5-3 lead.
Hunter Wood (S, 1) retired Gwinnett (48-37) in order in the last of the ninth for his first save of the season.
Aaron Slegers (W, 3-4) was the pitching story for the Bulls (52-34), who won their third straight. Slegers entered in the last of the fourth, inheriting the bases loaded and two outs to face the league's leading home run hitter, Adam Duvall. Slegers induced a flyout to deep left-center. Then Slegers worked four more shutout innings, permitting just three singles to register the win.
Thanks to the win, Durham moved 3 1/2 ahead in the South over the Stripers, and remained five up on third place Charlotte, which won Thursday night.
The Bulls and Stripers play a Friday night doubleheader at 5:05 PM ET, part of a five-game, four-day series.
