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Duke

Duke to play 18 home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park

By Erin Hartness, WRAL News

Nov 17, 2009

Durham, N.C. — The Duke University baseball team will play 18 home games in 2010 at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, school officials said Tuesday.

The stadium is home to the Durham Bulls, the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays.

"Bringing ACC baseball to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park is a terrific opportunity for fans to watch great college baseball in a fan-friendly setting while giving our staff an invaluable opportunity to prepare for the Durham Bulls season," Durham Bulls General Manager Mike Birling said in a release.

Jim Goodmon, owner of the Durham Bulls and president and CEO of Capitol Broadcasting, said Duke playing at the DBAP is good for the area.

“This is going to be part of what’s going on in downtown Durham and everybody that works in downtown Durham is going to come down to these games," Goodmon said.

It will be the first time since 1931 that Duke will play home games outside of Jack Coombs Field, located on the west campus of university. Coombs Field will still be used for a number of home games and as a practice field.

Duke head baseball coach Sean McNally also played minor league baseball at the DBAP. He said playing there again will be special for him.

"We played in the ACC tournament here last year and I think it's kind of surreal for our guys," McNally said.

Duke was 35-24 this past season in baseball and 15-15 in ACC games. The Blue Devils were 25-9 at home.