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Bulls Host Blue Devils in Battle of Bull City
DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke takes on the Durham Bulls, Triple A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, in an exhibition game April 4 at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Presented by Groupon, the contest is slated for a 6:05 p.m., first pitch on ACC Network Extra.
The nine-inning game pits the DBAP's two residents against one another in a midseason exhibition game for the Blue Devils and preseason tune-up for the Bulls, who open the 2017 campaign April 6 at Gwinnett. Both teams will use wood bats in the contest.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do since I was a little kid,” said head coach Chris Pollard. “I always thought how fun it would be to play in one of these games where a college team matched up against pro team. I want our guys to have fun and enjoy it.”
Duke baseball and the Durham Bulls not only share a home ballpark but also a collective history. The city’s first professional baseball team, the Durham Tobacconists, took the field for the first time in an exhibition game against Duke (then Trinity College) April 24, 1902, a year prior to the first World Series in 1903.
Professional baseball did not return to the Bull City until the formation of the North Carolina State League in 1913 when Durham played its first game as the Bulls at Hanes Field on Trinity College’s campus, what is now Duke’s East Campus. The Duke Blue Devils and the Durham Bulls squared off twice in 1913, once in 1916 and again in 1917 before the North Carolina State League folded at the start of World War I.
Once pro ball resumed in Durham in 1920, the two teams met nine times over the next 14 seasons before the Durham Bulls were unable to operate from 1934-35 due to the Great Depression. The Bulls and the Blue Devils last took the field opposite one another April 17, 1933 at El Toro Park, which was renamed Durham Athletic Park at the conclusion of the 1933 season.
On November 17, 2009, Duke and the Durham Bulls announced an agreement for the Blue Devils to play 18 home games at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The two clubs renewed that agreement October 2, 2015. Beginning in 2016, the contract renewal is a seven-year agreement that allows Duke to play up to 36 exhibition and home games at the DBAP each year. The agreement also calls for a limited number of Duke practices at the DBAP as well as a permanent Duke locker room and clubhouse at the facility.
The 2017 campaign marks the eighth consecutive season in which Duke plays homes games at the DBAP. Under the current agreement, the Blue Devils play the vast majority of their home schedule at the minor league venue.
All tickets for Tuesday’s contest are priced at $10 plus tax, and can be purchased through the Frontier Communications Ticket Office or by calling 919.956.BULL. Anyone with a valid DukeCard ID can receive up to four free tickets for the game. Tickets will be available for in-person pick-up at the DBAP box office.
Duke resumes its regular season schedule this weekend, traveling to Miami for a three-game series Saturday-Monday.
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