Indians Lose Season Finale, 8-3

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis Indians rallied to tie the game with two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning vs. the Nashville Sounds, but closed out their 2021 campaign with a loss on Sunday afternoon, 8-3.

With the loss, the Indians (61-67) finished the season with a 34-30 record at Victory Field. They have notched a record of .500 or better in 16 of their last 17 seasons dating back to 2004 and 22 of 25 seasons in Victory Field history.

Facing a 2-0 deficit, a double off the bat of Eli Wilson – his first Triple-A hit – and a wild pitch with Jared Oliva on third base tied the game for the Indians.

Nashville (70-58) retook the lead with one run in the top of the fifth and broke it open with five runs in the seventh. Former Indians infielder Pablo Reyes launched a two-out grand slam to give Nashville the 8-2 lead.

A one-out triple in the bottom of the eighth inning off the bat of Jared Oliva, his fourth of the season, led to another Indians run being scored.

Carmen Mlodzinski (L, 0-1) made his Triple-A debut in relief of Osvaldo Bido and gave up two runs (one earned) in two innings. Zack Brown (W, 1-0) tossed 1.1 shutout innings in relief for Nashville.

Bligh Madris led the Indians offense with two doubles in the contest, extending his on-base streak to a team-high 26 games dating back to Aug. 27. His streak beat Anthony Alford’s previous team-high of 25 games.

The Indians finished their season with a 4-5 record in the Triple-A Final Stretch. Their 19 home runs over those nine games totaled $950 donated to Indy RBI by Minor League Baseball.