Mudcats start second half strong; Bulls split keeps them atop International League East

The Carolina Mudcats (39-36) rallied from a three-run deficit in the sixth inning to win in walk-off fashion against the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (33-37), the Single-A affiliate of the Houston Astros, for their fourth straight victory and the series win Sunday in Zebulon.

The Carolina Mudcats opened their series against the Fayetteville Mudcats with an 8-5 victory. Entering the eighth 5-5, the Mudcats rolled off three runs to ultimately take home the victory. Jesus Chirinos led the Mudcats in RBIs (3), Eduardo Garcia was at the top in hits (3), and Carlos Rodriguez threw four innings, allowing one earned run and seven strikeouts.

The Mudcats dropped the second game of the series, 8-5. Alexander Cornielle struggled, only throwing 2.2 innings, walking three, and allowing six earned runs. The Woodpeckers’ five-run third inning proved to be the difference in the game. The Mudcats were 0-for-10, with runners in scoring position.

Carolina rebounded in Game 3 of the series with a 2-1 victory. Miguel Segura threw five innings of one-run baseball, striking out five before turning it over to Jeferson Figueroa. Figueroa threw four innings of scoreless baseball, striking out five and walking two.

Hendry Mendez hit a walk-off single to capture the victory for the Mudcats.

The Mudcats won the fourth game of the series, 5-2. Stiven Cruz threw a career-high six scoreless innings and struck out five. Cruz didn’t walk a batter in his six innings. Jheremy Vargas went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

The Mudcats seized control of the series with back-to-back 4-3 victories. Hendry Mendez had a career day on Saturday, racking up four hits with a home run. In the sixth inning, Jackson Chourio connected on the go-ahead homer, his ninth of the season.

Zack Raabe ended the series with a walk-off single that broke the 3-3 tie in the tenth.

Carolina sits in second place in the Carolina League’s second half. After taking five of six against the Woodpeckers, the Mudcats head out on the road to face the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (32-43 overall, 6-3 in the second half) for a six-game series.

Bulls split with Knights

The Durham Bulls (42-36) played the Charlotte Knights, the AAA affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, this past week, and escaped the series with a split.

The Bulls opened their North Carolina six-game series with a 6-2 victory over the Knights. Ryan Boldt started the scoring with a double (8) to bring in Xavier Edwards. Boldt scored on a fly ball from Jim Haley to extend the lead to 2-0. A single by Tristian Gray capped off the three-run first inning that set the tone for the game.

The Knights bounced back with a 9-8 victory over the Bulls. The offense ruled the day on both sides. Charlotte scored two runs in four consecutive innings to steal game two of the series. Tristan Gary hit his 16th home run of the year. Grant Witherspoon hit his first home run at the AAA level.

The Bulls snagged back-to-back victories over the Knights to take a 3-1 series advantage before dropping the final two games.

Durham currently sits at the top of the International League East. The Bulls host the Memphis Redbirds (43-35) for their next series.