Bats Complete Stunning Late Comeback, Win 5-4 In 11

Although the Louisville Bats started off slow, the offense woke up in the nick of time, sending the game into extra innings. Heroics by Ivan Johnson at the plate and in the field helped Louisville scraping out a 5-4 win in 11 innings over the Iowa Cubs at Principal Park on Friday Night.

Down 3-1 In the ninth, Noelvi Marte would double, while Johnson would follow with a double of his own, cutting the lead back down to one run, 3-2. Michael Chavis would deliver a clutch hit of his own into the left field corner, making it three doubles in a row for Louisville to tie the game 3-3. Iowa would stall in their half of the ninth against Yunior Marte (W, 1-0), as the two teams would head to extras.

The I-Cubs had to turn to position player Casey Opitz (L, 0-1) to try and come through for his team on the mound in extras. Edwin Arroyo would deliver for the Bats with a single smacked up the middle, scoring Francisco Urbaez for the Bats’ first lead of the night at 4-3.

In Iowa’s half of the 10^th, Jonathon Long would come through with his fourth hit of the game, tying it back up at four. With the bases loaded and one out, But Bats Manager Pat Kelly moved Johnson, the left fielder, to the infield as a fifth infielder. That move saved the game, as Kevin Alcantara hit a ground ball right at Johnson, who threw home to start an unusual 7-2-3 game-saving double play and send the game to the 11th.

In the 11^th, it would be Chavis who delivers the go-ahead run on an RBI single, where Louisville once again took the lead, 5-4. Andrew Chafin (S, 1) would shut the door on Iowa, but not without the help of Johnson once again. This time in left field, Johnson fielded Owen Miller’s single and threw a dart home to nab Alcantara looking to score the tying run, keeping the Bats ahead. Chafin finished the win and earned his first Bats save by inducing a pop up to the next hitter.

For the first eight innings, the game didn’t go as well for the Bats as it did for the last three.

The I-Cubs got on the board in the bottom of the second with an RBI single by Eric Yang against former Bats teammate Brandon Leibrandt. It would mark Iowa’s first run in 11 innings.

Iowa would turn to the bullpen early, pulling starter Trent Thornton after just two innings with two strikeouts. Phil Maton would come in, as the right-hander would start his rehab assignment from the Chicago Cubs. The Bats got a couple hits off Maton but could not score.

Both teams would go into a standstill from there, until Iowa extended their lead in the sixth after a lead off double by Long, followed by a broken-bat RBI single by Alcantara to make it 2-0.

In his longest start of the season, Leibrandt allowed two runs on six hits with no walks and five strikeouts over six innings.

Back-to-back singles by Dunn and Arroyo would put the Bats in business in the seventh, but the Iowa bullpen would work out of the jam. Hagen Danner would come out of the bullpen for Louisville, where he would blank the I-Cubs in the seventh in 1-2-3 fashion.

Louisville would threaten again in the eighth, getting the bases loaded via Chavis getting hit by a pitch, and both Michael Toglia and Urbaez walking. This time, the Bats would deliver, as Dunn would walk in a run to cut the lead in half, 2-1. The inning would stall there, however, as Arroyo popped out to end the inning.

Zach Maxwell would come in during the bottom half of the eighth, where a walk and a hit-and-run would lead to Pedro Ramirez delivering for the home team on a single, extending the lead back out to two runs, 3-1.

From there, the Bats stormed back to tie it and emerged victorious after the wild extra innings. The win moves the Bats to .500 for the first time this season at 15-10, Lousiville’s first time at five games over .500 since July 20, 2024. Six bats recorded a multi-hit game in the win. Chavis drove in a pair while Arroyo and Marte each had three hits.

The Bats (15-10) continue their series against the I-Cubs (12-12) on Saturday afternoon. First pitch is set for 4:08 p.m. EST at Principal Park. Nick Curran will be on the call on Sports Talk 790 AM.