Louisville and Columbus Split Series as Bats Lose 4-1

LOUISVILLE, KY- Louisville starter Justin Nicolino earned his third quality start in the month of July, but the Louisville Bats (41-57) came up short on Sunday afternoon, losing 4-1 to the Columbus Clippers (55-43) at Louisville Slugger Field.

[BOX SCORE]

After securing a winning month of July with last night’s victory over the Clippers, Louisville split the series with Columbus and have now won or split four straight series at home.

Columbus got on the board first, tallying three hits in the top of the first inning including an RBI-single from third baseman Gabriel Arias to gain the early 1-0 advantage.

After reaching base via a bunt single in the bottom of the third, TJ Frield swiped second base to get into scoring position. Louisville shortstop Jose Barrero then jumped on a 3-1 fastball, driving it into the left field corner to bring home Friedl and evening the score at 1-1.

Gabriel Arias struck again in the sixth, tallying his second RBI of the game on a solo homer that landed on the grassy berm in left center field to give the Clippers a 2-1 lead.

Each team’s southpaw starters had great outings, with Columbus’s Konnor Pilkington (1-0, 5.40) working five innings, allowing the lone run, four hits, a pair of walks and three strikeouts, and Louisville’s Justin Nicolino (2-4, 5.76) working 6.2 innings while allowing seven hits and two runs to earn his third quality start of the month.

Columbus tacked on two more in the eighth inning thanks to a 2-RBI base knock from former Bat Sandy Leon to push the lead to the final score of 4-1.

Following the scheduled off day tomorrow, Louisville will head to Indianapolis for a six game series beginning Tuesday night (August 2) with first pitch slated for 7:05 p.m. Louisville right-hander T.J. Zeuch (0-5, 8.57) will get the start for the Bats, with Indy’s starter yet to be named.