Bulls Down Blue Devils in Battle in the Bull City

DURHAM, NC - The Durham Bulls outlasted the Duke Blue Devils 6-1 in 7 innings in the second-ever Battle in the Bull City at Durham Bulls Athletic Park Tuesday night. Nate Lowe led the charge for the Bulls, going 3-for-3 with two RBI's and three doubles. Starter Ryan Merritt, Casey Sadler, Luis Santos and Mike Franco combined to hold Duke batters to three hits and one run in the win.
Merritt paced the Bulls by tallying a strikeout and no hits in the first two innings, going back and forth with Duke starter Aaron Beasley, who tallied two scoreless innings of his own. Sadler allowed one run in relief but recorded two strikeouts in two innings of work.
The Bulls got the scoring started in the third, thanks to RBI walks by Jake Smolinski and Lowe. After Duke got one back on an RBI single by Rudy Maxwell, Durham put the pressure back on with an RBI single by Nathan Lukes in his Bulls debut, and Mike Brosseau coming home on a wild pitch.
The lead increased once again thanks to Lowe, who notched his third double of the game to make the final score 6-1. Bulls pitching shut down the Duke offense, allowing no hits in the final three innings thanks to Santos and Franco.
The Bulls open the 2019 season on Thursday, April 4^th, when they travel to face the Charlotte Knights at BB&T Ballpark for the first of a four-game series. The Bulls open their home slate on Thursday, April 11^th, when they battle the Columbus Clippers at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.