FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 7, 2026
Contact: info@durhambulls.com
Jacksonville, FL --- Jake Cave hit a home run to tie the game in the ninth, then Homer Bush won the game with an infield single in the 10th to lift the Durham Bulls past the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in a Tuesday marathon 9-8 at VyStar Ballpark.
Durham (10-2) trailed 8-7 heading to the ninth after Jared Serna singled home the tie-breaking run in the bottom of the eighth against Logan Workman. But Cave, who entered the game in the fifth inning for Jake Fraley, bombed a pitch from Zach Pop (L, 1-4) over the right-centerfield wall to draw the Bulls even 8-8 with Jacksonville (7-6).
Durham took the lead in the 10th with two outs when Homer Bush tapped a grounder over the mound and near the second base bag. The Jumbo Shrimp infielders couldn't corral the ball in time to get the force out at second, which allowed Melton to score the eventual game-winning run.
Owen Wild (W, 1-0) notched his first Triple-A win by tossing a scoreless ninth and 10th inning, punctuating the victory with two strikeouts. Wild was Durham's seventh pitcher of the night.
Durham took a 1-0 lead in the second on a single from Logan Driscoll to bring home Nick Madrigal.
Jacksonville scored five times in the second against Bulls starter Joe Boyle, who walked five and allowed three hits over 1 2/3 innings. All five runs in the second were unearned due to a throwing error by Oliver Dunn at third base to start the inning. Boyle left after 61 pitches and a pair of walks that forced in runs.
However, the Bulls hit three consecutive homers in the third inning to jump in front of Bradley Blalock. Jake Fraley drilled a three-run shot to cut the deficit to 5-4, with Carson Williams ambushing a 2-0 pitch for a deep homer to left for a 5-5 tie. Jacob Melton then skulled a homer to straightaway center field to give Durham a 6-5 lead.
Williams singled home a run in the fourth to boost Durham's lead to 7-5 before Jacksonville tied the game in the fifth.
Jacksonville, which won nine of 12 meetings in the first half against Durham, stranded 17 baserunners in the 3-hour, 41-minute game.
The series' second game is slated for Wednesday night with Michael Forret (1-1, 6.10) expected to start against Braxton Garrett (3-2, 1.55).
Notes: On Saturday night, the Bulls hit three consecutive homers for the first time in their Triple-A history. On Tuesday night, Durham did it again. Carson Williams and Jacob Melton were involved in the trio of homers against Gwinnett, and they were involved again against Jacksonville.
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