Charlotte powers past Durham, scores six late in 11-6 win

Charlotte’s lineup kept hitting when the game demanded it most, turning a brief scare into an 11-6 victory over Durham on Thursday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. After building an early 5-1 cushion, the Knights watched the Bulls claw all the way back to a 6-6 tie, then slammed the door with six runs over the final two innings to keep their road trip rolling.

The early damage started with Caden Connor, whose three-run home run to the opposite field in the second inning stretched a 2-1 lead into a 5-1 advantage. It was Connor’s third homer of the season, and it set the tone for a Charlotte offense that never let Durham settle in, even after the Bulls answered with three runs in the bottom of the second and tied the game in the third.

That reset did not last long. Charlotte kept forcing traffic on the bases and kept asking Durham’s pitching staff to escape one more jam. The breakthrough came in the eighth, when Ryan Galanie ripped a one-out double to start the late surge. Andy Weber followed with a single that scored Galanie and tied the game 6-6, and two batters later Jason Matthews delivered an RBI single to put Charlotte back in front for good.

The Knights were not finished. In the ninth, Braden Montgomery doubled home an insurance run, and Galanie capped the night with a three-run double down the left-field line. That final burst pushed Charlotte to six runs over the last two frames and gave the club a score line that matched the pressure it applied all night.

Charlotte finished with 11 hits and 11 runs, while Durham totaled 12 hits and six runs. The difference came in the way the Knights stacked quality at-bats after the game tightened, a sign this was more than one loud inning. It followed a 6-1 win at the start of the road trip and gave Charlotte three straight victories to open the trip. The Knights have now outscored Durham 31-9 over their last two games and remain unbeaten in six meetings with the Bulls in 2026.

Chase Plymell, Peyton Pallette and Garrett Schoenle handled the back end for Charlotte, combining for five innings, one run and eight strikeouts. The victory lifted the Knights to 32-28, dropped Durham to 24-36, and left 6,460 fans watching a 6:46 p.m. first pitch in clear, 88-degree weather see Charlotte’s offense keep building momentum at exactly the right time.