DURHAM, N.C. – The Durham Bulls (16-14) scored three runs off Kolby Allard in the sixth inning and hung on to defeat the Gwinnett Stripers (17-14) 4-2 on Monday afternoon at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Travis Demeritte blasted a solo home run in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough for the Stripers, who finished the eight-game road trip at 4-4.
Scoring Recap: Durham took a 1-0 lead in the second inning as Nick Solak drew a leadoff walk and scored on an RBI groundout by Anthony Bemboom. The Stripers tied it at 1-1 in the third as Sal Giardina was hit by a pitch and scored on an RBI groundout by Austin Riley. The 1-1 score held until the sixth, when the Bulls struck for three runs off Allard to take a 4-1 lead. Jake Cronenworth doubled to right, Mike Brosseau lined an RBI single to center, and Christian Arroyo (4) followed with a two-run home run to center. Demeritte (4) launched an opposite-field solo homer to right off Oliver Drake to make it 4-2 in the ninth.
Stripers Stats: Allard (L, 2-2) allowed four runs – three earned – on five hits over 6.0 innings. He walked two and struck out three. Atlanta Braves’ left-hander Jesse Biddle struck out two over 2.0 perfect innings in his second rehab appearance for Gwinnett. Demeritte went 2-for-3 with a double, homer, and RBI.
Bulls Stats: Starter Ryan Yarbrough pitched 5.0 innings of three-hit, one-run baseball. Cole Sulser (W, 3-2) and Hoby Milner (H, 2) combined on 3.0 scoreless innings in relief, and Drake (S, 5) struck out three in the ninth. Arroyo went 1-for-3 with a homer and two RBIs.
Postgame Notes: Demeritte led off the fourth inning with a double, extending his hitting streak to 12 games. Riley’s third-inning RBI was his 12th of the road trip and team-leading 28th of the season. Gwinnett dropped the final two games of the series by a combined score of 10-4 after winning games two and three by a combined score of 21-3.
Next Game (Tuesday, May 7): Gwinnett vs. Buffalo, 7:05 p.m. at Coolray Field. RHP Andres Santiago (1-2, 5.21 ERA) for the Stripers vs. LHP Ryan Feierabend (1-0, 1.50 ERA) for the Bisons. Radio Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. on 97.7 and 93.5 FM “The Other Side of the River.”
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