Bulls erupt for five runs in seventh, rally past Norfolk 6-3

Durham turned a quiet Sunday into a momentum-saving finish, using one explosive seventh inning to beat Norfolk 6-3 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park and lock up a six-game split. Trailing by two runs with the game starting to feel ordinary, the Bulls sent 10 batters to the plate and flipped the series finale into another example of how quickly this lineup can change a game.

The rally began with Carson Williams’ single, then picked up speed when Raynel Delgado rolled a grounder that led to an error by Norfolk shortstop Maikol Hernandez. Against Andrew Kittredge, who was on a Major League rehab assignment, Durham kept stacking pressure until Dom Keegan delivered the key swing, a two-run single that pulled the Bulls even. Cooper Bowman followed with the final blow, a two-run single that deflected off third baseman Bryan Ramos’ glove and pushed Durham in front for good.

That seventh inning did not come out of nowhere. Brock Jones had put Durham on top early with a third-inning home run off Cade Povich, giving the Bulls a 1-0 lead before Norfolk answered. The Tides then jumped ahead on Jhonkensy Noel’s three-run homer off Garrett Cleavinger, who was making his first rehab appearance and had been on the Rays’ injured list since March 31 with a right calf issue. Even then, Durham had already shown enough on the mound to stay in range. Logan Workman struck out 10 over five scoreless innings and left without factoring in the decision, keeping the Bulls close long enough for the late burst to matter.

Cam Booser finished it with a perfect ninth for his second save, sealing a win that mattered well beyond one afternoon. Durham and Norfolk both finished the series at 8-13, and the Bulls came away with their third comeback victory of the set. It also marked Durham’s second straight six-game split on a Sunday, after the club did the same in Scranton the previous week.

The larger pattern for Durham was clear across the week. Jacob Melton won the opener on April 14 with a walk-off sacrifice fly in the 10th, the Bulls roared back from an 8-1 deficit to beat Norfolk 19-9 on Friday, and then they finished the job Sunday with one five-run inning. In a volatile series, Durham kept finding a way to stay alive, and that may have been the most important result of all.