Durham Bulls Home Opener

Story and photos by Hal Goodtree.

Durham, NC – I had a chance to cover the Durham Bulls Home Opener yesterday. It was a beautiful night for baseball.

Durham Bulls 2013 Home Opener

It was sunny and mild for the 2013 Durham Bulls home opener, with temps in the 70’s and a piano player on the corner of Blackwell Street. A big crowd bustled through the stadium, eager for the start of the baseball season.

Someone said there was a basketball game on TV, but no one seemed to care. The Gwinnett Braves were in town, the beer was cold and the smell of ‘cue filled the park.

The game started out as a pitching duel with few base runners and only a couple of loud outs to the outfield. The Bulls put on lots of amusing inter-inning entertainments, including sing-alongs, giant sumo wrestling and shtiks starring Wool E. Bull.

As evening turned into night, the G-Braves went up 1-0 in the ninth. But the Bulls rallied in the bottom of the inning, scoring two runs for a walk-off win.

The Bulls stand in first place in the Triple A International League South standings with a record of 4-1. They are in town all week with games Gwinnett and against the Norfolk Tides.