As most of the baseball world digs in for the major league pennant races, the Durham Bulls will be vying to become the first team in a decade to repeat as the International League's Governor's Cup champions.
The Bulls advanced to the finals of the four-team International League playoffs by defeating the Louisville Bats three days in a row following their series-opening loss, and now face off against the Pawtucket PawSox in the best-of-five championship series.
Durham put the Bats to rest with a 9-6 victory Saturday night, closing the book on a series characterized by tight games and bizarre plays. What turned out to be the winning run in Saturday's clincher was scored on a routine pop-up by Durham's Jorge Cantu, as four Bats players allowed the ball to fall in for an RBI double. It was the second time in three days that Durham had terrorized Louisville with pop-ups; Thursday night, Duke alum Ryan Jackson hit a high pop-up to the pitcher's mound that dropped amidst several Bats infielders, allowing Brooks Badeaux to trot home with the go-ahead run in the Bulls' 2-1 victory.
That Jackson was even on the field--let alone leading the Bulls into the finals--was a minor miracle. Last Sunday night, after the Bulls clinched their division, Jackson was involved in a serious car accident only blocks from the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, with his wife and baby son in the car. Fortunately, nobody was badly injured, and after sitting out the regular season finale, Jackson returned to anchor the Bulls' lineup for the Louisville series.
Jackson and the Bulls host Pawtucket--the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox--on Tuesday and Wednesday, looking to get a leg up in their quest to post back-to-back championships.
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