Caleb Ricketts' walk-off homer lifts IronPigs past Bulls, 8-7

Caleb Ricketts gave Lehigh Valley exactly the kind of answer a Triple-A lineup values from behind the plate: power, patience, and the last swing of the night.

The 25-year-old catcher launched a walk-off solo homer to lead off the ninth inning Monday at Coca-Cola Park, capping an 8-7 IronPigs win over the Durham Bulls in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It was his second home run of the game and the blast that finally separated two clubs that had traded leads all night. Lehigh Valley improved to 12-10, while Durham fell to 8-14.

The game opened with Durham scoring twice in its first trip, using three walks and two singles to jump ahead. Lehigh Valley answered right away. Steward Berroa tripled in a run and then scored on an Otto Kemp sacrifice fly to tie it. Durham reclaimed the lead in the second on a Carson Williams RBI single, but Ricketts flipped the game in the third with his first homer of the night. Bryan De La Cruz followed with an RBI double as the IronPigs took control before the Bulls kept coming back.

Durham kept forcing the issue in the middle innings. Brock Jones scored on a wild pitch, Homer Bush Jr. drew a bases-loaded walk, and Jacob Melton drove in runs with both a single and a double as the Bulls kept pressure on the home team. Lehigh Valley refused to let the margin stick. Berroa added another RBI single in the fifth, then Ricketts doubled home a run in the seventh before Sergio Alcántara singled him in to tie the game at 7-7.

That set up the ninth, and Ricketts ended it quickly by driving a no-doubt solo shot to left. Jonathan Hernández worked a perfect ninth with one strikeout to earn the win, while Cam Hill took the loss for Durham.

The performance mattered for more than the scoreline. Ricketts, a right-handed hitter and thrower listed at 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, was a seventh-round pick by the Phillies in 2022 out of the University of San Diego. Nights like this are where a catcher’s offensive upside carries extra weight in Triple-A, where defensive value alone rarely moves the needle. A two-homer game, capped by a walk-off, is the sort of showing that can sharpen a prospect’s profile and give Lehigh Valley a real middle-of-the-order threat at a premium position.

The teams were set to meet again Wednesday at 6:35 p.m., with Bryse Wilson scheduled to start for Lehigh Valley and Brody Hopkins lined up for Durham.