WRAL Sports Fan

Bulls

Richard's slams give Bulls win

By Wes Skipwith

May 16, 2009

Chris Richard’s second grand slam of the night, a walk-off shot to centerfield, was the finishing touch on a night that the Bulls recovered from an 8-1 deficit to defeat the Louisville Bats, 13-9 on Friday at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Richard ended the day with eight RBIs while going 3-5 from the plate. His two grand slams are a Bulls’ Triple-A record while his RBI total was one shy of tying the Bulls’ Triple-A record, set by Scott McClain in 1998.

The come back started in the bottom of the fourth after the bats plated five runs in their half of the inning to take their largest lead of the game. Durham answered back with a two-run home run from Ray Olmedo, cutting Louisville’s lead to 8-3.

Richard’s grand slam in the eighth cut Louisville’s lead to one and a double from John Weber in the bottom of the ninth tied the game at nine apiece. Both teams traded runs in the tenth frame, before Richard’s second grand slam won the game.

Both teams used a total of 13 pitchers, with seven of them coming from Durham’s bullpen. Reliever Joe Bateman picked up the win, his second in a row, after a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the eleventh.

Durham has rallied four times in the four games this series with Louisville. Down 2-0 in game one, the Bulls went ahead 6-2 before falling 7-6. On Wednesday, Durham trailed 3-0 and rallied to win 4-3. Thursday, Durham overcame a 5-0 deficit to win 11-6. Tonight, the Bulls overcame their biggest deficit of the year, rallying back from a seven run deficit.

With the win, the Bulls clinched a 3-1 series victory over Louisville and now prepare for their series against Rochester. Bulls RHP Mitch Talbot (3-3, 4.10 ERA) takes the mound with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m.