Globe iconLogin iconRecap iconSearch iconTickets icon
Triple-A Affiliate
The Official Site of the Louisville Bats Louisville Bats

Late-inning comeback falls short as Bats drop to Clippers, 6-5

Darnell Sweeney gathers another multi-hit performance for the Bats (Copyright Patrick L. Pfister 2017 All Rights Reserved)
June 7, 2017

COLUMBUS, OH - The Louisville Bats (22-36) have fallen, 6-5, in the third game of the series against the Columbus Clippers (28-30) on Wednesday evening at Huntington Park.Louisville sent right-hander Jackson Stephens (3-4, 5.65 ERA) to the mound to open the game, and his night finished after five innings pitched

COLUMBUS, OH - The Louisville Bats (22-36) have fallen, 6-5, in the third game of the series against the Columbus Clippers (28-30) on Wednesday evening at Huntington Park.
Louisville sent right-hander Jackson Stephens (3-4, 5.65 ERA) to the mound to open the game, and his night finished after five innings pitched and six hits allowed. He gave up five runs, with only three of those being earned, and he also walked six and struck out three.
Columbus scored twice in the bottom of the first inning with the help of two walks, a hard-hit single, and a sacrifice fly. The Bats soon countered in the top of the following inning when Brandon Dixon drew a walk and was later brought home on an RBI single from Zach Vincej.
Facing a 2-1 deficit in the top of the third, Darnell Sweeney led off the inning with a double to right field. Jesse Winker later approached the plate with two outs and knocked a single, bringing home Sweeney and evening the score at two.
After the Clippers quickly loaded the bases to open the bottom of the fourth inning, Stevens walked Eric Stamets, forcing in a run and giving Columbus a 3-2 lead. An error and a double play ball were enough to bring in two more runs, extending the Clippers' lead to 5-2.
In the top of the seventh, Chad Wallach belted his fourth home run of the season with a solo shot to left-center. In the next inning, the Bats worked a rally and Winker drove home Sebastian Elizalde, however the offense left the bases loaded and ended the inning down 5-4.
Columbus was able to tack on another run in the bottom of the eighth, bringing the score to 6-4 going into the ninth inning.
A leadoff ground rule double from Vincej in the top of the ninth gave the Bats hope for a last-minute comeback, however the Bats produced just one run, which was not enough to overcome the Columbus lead.
Darnell Sweeney went 2-for-5 with a run scored and a run batted in, highlighting Louisville's offense from Wednesday night's game. Sweeney's multi-hit performance marks the fourth time he has achieved this through his eight games played with the Bats.
The Louisville Bats will take on the Columbus Clippers once again tomorrow at 12:05 p.m. with the hopes of evening the series. Left-hander Cody Reed (1-4, 3.23 ERA) will take the hill for the Bats, and right-hander Adam Plutko (4-6, 6.60 ERA) will start for the Clippers.