Sando Shines in Bats 4-2 Win During Thunder Over Louisville

After over an hour of rain delay, the Louisville Bats came away successful for the annual game at Thunder over Louisville Slugger Field, winning against the Toledo Mud Hens 4-2 on Saturday afternoon. A pair of newcomers, Nick Sando and Dominic Pitelli, made their debuts and turned in some impactful performances in the victory.

Sando was given the nod as the Bats starter for his Triple-A debut after getting promoted from Double-A Chattanooga yesterday. Sando made the most of his opening inning and threw a clean frame with two strikeouts, with Tigers' No. 2 prospect Max Clark being his first. Lael Lockhart made the start for the Mud Hens and retired his first three batters in the first.

Also making his debut from Chattanooga was Pitelli at shortstop, who flew a single to left field for the first hit for the Bats in the third inning. He reached base with one out, but the Bats couldn’t convert and left the inning empty.

Sando (1-0) continued to deal efficiently through the fourth inning, allowing just one hit and three walks with five strikeouts. Hector Rodriguez began the bottom half with a single, but the next three batters all flew out to strand him.

Louisville finally broke the seal in the fifth to give Sando some cushion. Pitelli got his second hit of the game, lining a ball into left field to move Will Banfield to second base with one out. Blake Dunn followed suit with a similar hit to plate Banfield. A sacrifice fly by Edwin Arroyo would score Pitelli, and an error by Toledo would score Dunn and secure a 3-0 lead heading into the sixth.

Despite a rising pitch count, Sando continued to hold his own against the Mud Hens, recording a 1-2-3 inning in the sixth to end his day. He finished with a final line of 6.0 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and three walks with six strikeouts. Pitelli looked to have lost his early streak of reaching base, but ran out a wild pitch on a dropped third strike to reach for the third time in the inning.

Tejay Antone relieved Sando in the seventh and was untouchable, striking out two Mud Hens and retiring the third for a clean inning. Antone continued his streak of 7.2 innings without a hit or run allowed, which had been active since the beginning of the season. JJ Bleday added some insurance in the Bats’ half, plating Noelvi Marte on a single up the middle to make it 4-0.

The Mud Hens plated a run in the eighth with Antone returning to the mound. He gave up a walk to the opening batter, then surrendered an RBI single for his first hit allowed and first earned run of the season. Anthony Misiewicz relieved him afterward and retired the next three batters to keep a 4-1 lead intact.

Things got dicey in the ninth, with Trevor Kuncl on the mound in a save opportunity. Kuncl showed immediate signs of a lack of command, allowing two straight walks to begin the inning. A putout at second put runners at first and third, but Corey Julks stole second to avoid a double play chance. Kuncl gave up another walk to load the bases, but Will Banfield picked off Ben Malgeri a few pitches later to record the second out of the inning.

Kuncl then let up another walk to load the bases once again, and then gave up his fifth walk to let the Mud Hens cut the lead to 4-2. It was up to Yunior Marte to help save the day, and he needed just one pitch to do so, forcing a ground out and securing the save and a Bats win.

Sando earned his first career Triple-A win, while Lockhart was tabbed with the loss. Pitelli had the lone multi-hit performance for the Bats tonight, finishing 2-4 from the plate. Antone, Misiewicz, and Kuncl each earned a hold from the bullpen.

The Bats (11-9) round out their six-game series against the Mud Hens (9-11) on Sunday afternoon, with the first pitch set for 1:05 p.m. at Louisville Slugger Field. Nick Curran and Jim Kelch will have the call on Sports Talk 790 AM.