Indians Beat Louisville in Home Series Finale

INDIANAPOLIS – Alika Williams launched his first home run of the season and extended his hitting streak to 10 games as the Indianapolis Indians were victorious in the final game of the six-game homestand against the Louisville Bats on Sunday afternoon, 9-5.

In the second inning, the Bats (8-7) took the lead first for the fifth time in this series. With the wind blowing out, a perfectly placed single by Blake Dunn dropped in between right fielder Ronny Simon and second baseman Termarr Johnson, allowing two Bats runners to score.

Louisville’s lead was short lived, as the Indians (4-11) struck back immediately in the bottom of the frame.

Davis Wendzel ripped a double down the third base line into the left-field corner, and advanced to third after Johnson beat out an infield single. Nick Cimillo followed with a sharp RBI-single hit right at the second baseman, knocking off his glove and escaping into shallow center field. Wind played a factor yet again, as long single hit by Mike Jarvis dropped in against the wall behind the left fielder to plate Johnson and tie the game, 2-2. With two on and two out, Alika Williams shot a 415-foot home run to left field off of Louisville starter Chase Petty (L, 1-2) to cap the scoring, bringing Nick Cimillo and Tyler Callihan home and extending the lead, 5-2.

Rafael Flores Jr. led off the fifth inning with a single into center field. Endy Rodríguez followed with a ground ball hit right at the second baseman, but an errant throw got away into left field and allowed Flores Jr. to come home and Rodríguez to reach first base with a fielder’s choice.

The Bats loaded the bases in the top of the eighth, but Beau Burrows induced a ground ball to end the frame.

Indianapolis followed suit and loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning. With two outs, Ronny Simon cleared the bases with a double to the center field wall to make it a 9-2 ball game.

Louisville cut the lead to four in the top of the ninth with a three-run home run by JJ Bleday off of Mike Clevinger to conclude the scoring.

Wilber Dotel (W, 1-1) earned his first win of the season after going 5.2 innings, allowing two earned runs and striking out five. Justin Meis, Beau Burrows and Michael Darrell-Hicks each pitched a scoreless appearance in the victory.

The Indians head on the road to face the Omaha Storm Chasers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They will begin a six-game series on Tuesday, April 14 at 1:05 PM ET. No starting pitchers have been named at this time.