Lehigh Valley gets clobbered in the series opener against Durham

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (3-4) opened a six-game homestand on Tuesday night against the Durham Bulls (4-6) from Coca-Cola Park. Lehigh Valley pitcher Kolby Allard (0-0, 3.60 ERA) was on the mound against Durham’s Joe Rock (0-0, 0.50 ERA).

Durham scored four runs at the top of the first inning all with two outs including an error by Scott Kingery that brought two runs home and a two-run double by Logan Driscoll. Lehigh Valley came back to tie the game 4-4 in the bottom of the first inning with a bases-clearing double by Jordan Luplow and an RBI single by Nick Podkul.

Durham would retake the lead 5-4 at the top of the second inning on an RBI single by Dominic Smith. Then, the Bulls added another run at the top of the third inning on an RBI single by Ronny Simon for a 6-4 lead. In the bottom of the third inning, Lehigh Valley left fielder Kody Clemens hit a solo run over the wall at left-center field cutting Durham’s lead down to 6-5.

At the top of the fourth inning, Durham’s Alex Jackson hit a three-run home run over the wall at left field which made it 8-5 Durham. Lehigh Valley kept battling back in the bottom of the fourth inning when Matt Kroon hit a two-run double to center field which made it 8-7 Durham.

At the top of the fifth inning, Durham’s Osleivis Basabe hit a three-run home run for an 11-7 lead. Then at the top of the sixth inning, Durham’s Logan Driscoll hit a two-run home run over the wall at right-center field which made it 13-7. Niko Goodrum also hit a three-run home run over the wall right-center field and it was now 16-7 Durham.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Lehigh Valley’s Matt Kroon hit an RBI single to center field which made it 16-8 Durham. Moving ahead to the top of the eighth inning, Osleivis Basabe grounded into a forceout to shortstop Weston Wilson, bringing home another run for a 17-8 lead.

At the top of the ninth inning, position player Esteban Quiroz pitched. Durham’s Alex Jackson started the inning off hitting a solo home run onto the berm at center field for an 18-8 lead. Next, Tristan Peters hit a two-run double for a 20-8 lead.

Niko Goodrum hit a two-run double which made it 22-8, Dominic Smith hit an RBI single to left field for a 23-8 lead, Alex Jackson cleared the bases with a three-run home run onto the berm at center field for a 26-8 lead, and Ruben Cardenas hit a two-run home run over the wall left field for a 28-8 lead.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Lehigh Valley right fielder Simon Muzziotti hit a two-run double which made it 28-10. That would be all for Lehigh Valley as they lost to the Durham Bulls by the final score of 28-10.

Durham set the following franchise records on Tuesday night:

Runs (28)
Hits (26)
Hits in an inning (10)
Most consecutive hits (8)
Doubles, tied (8)
Homers (7)
Margin of defeat for LHV, tied (18)

Other records tied or set in the game included:

Combined runs, tied (38)
Combined runs in an inning, tied (13)
Combined hits in an inning (13)

The win went to Durham pitcher Erasmo Ramírez (2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K) in 36 pitches, of which 22 were strikes, while the loss went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Kolby Allard (2.2 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 4 BB, 5 K) on 80 pitches, of which 45 were strikes.