Bats Top Gwinnett 6-2 in Final Game of 2022 Season

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA – Louisville (60-90) got out to an early lead and never looked back as the Bats topped the Gwinnett Stripers (69-79) 6-2 in the final game of the 2022 season at Coolray Field.

[Box Score]

The Bats jumped on top early, scoring in the opening frame of the game. Lorenzo Cedrola kicked the game off with a single to center field, followed by a four-pitch walk of Leonardo Rivas. Reds rehabber Aramis Garcia started the damage in the next at-bat, roping a double off the wall to score Cedrola and move Rivas to third.

Juniel Querecuto kept the momentum going with an RBI single to score Rivas and put Louisville up 2-0. TJ Hopkins grounded into a force out to score Garcia and subsequently stole second base before Isiah Gilliam brought him home to push the Bats lead to 4-0.

Brandon Williamson looked good in his final start of the season. Williamson tossed 4.1 scoreless innings, giving up just a single hit while walking four and striking out five.

Gwinnett finally got on the board in the sixth inning, scoring a run on a sacrifice fly to cut into the Louisville lead, 4-1.

Louisville got the run back in the following half inning. Cedrola led off the inning with a hit by pitch, but the next two batters struck out. Querecuto singled to keep the inning alive for Hopkins who brought Cedrola home with a line drive to center field to go back up four at 5-1, but the damage would end there as Querecuto was cut down trying to reach third base.

The Stripers managed another in the bottom of the seventh, scoring a run on an RBI single to cut into the Bats lead again, still down 5-2.

Louisville added on a final insurance run in the top of the eighth, courtesy of an RBI single off the bat of Michael De Leon. Dauri Moreta came on to pitch the final frame for the Bats, sitting Gwinnett down in order to seal the 6-2 victory.

As a team, the Bats tallied 12 hits with Querecuto, Hopkins and De Leon recording two hits each.

With today’s game, the Louisville Bats complete their 2022 campaign and head into the off-season to prepare for the 2023 season.