Bats Drop Fourth Straight, 5-3 To Gwinnett
The Louisville Bats suffered their fourth loss in a row after another late comeback attempt fell short against the Gwinnett Stripers 5-3 Thursday night at Slugger Field. The Stripers exploded with a flurry of offense, putting up a four-spot in the top of the second, highlighted by an RBI triple
The Louisville Bats suffered their fourth loss in a row after another late comeback attempt fell short against the Gwinnett Stripers 5-3 Thursday night at Slugger Field.
The Stripers exploded with a flurry of offense, putting up a four-spot in the top of the second, highlighted by an RBI triple courtesy of DaShawn Keirsey to give the Stripers an early 4-0 lead.
The first hit for Louisville did not come until the bottom of the third, where Dominic Pitelli smoked a ball through the right side off Gwinnett starter Garrett Baumann (W, 2-3).
Louisville did threaten despite the lack of offense in the beginning. Will Benson smoked a double with two outs in the fourth, although no runs would come of it.
Bats starter Brandon Williamson (L, 1-2) exited the game after hurling 4.1 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits. He struck out one and walked three. Zach McCambley came in and shut down the inning without any more damage, and the lead remained 4-0 after five innings.
Louisville threatened once again, this time with the bases loaded, and Leo Balcazar delivered in a huge way. A single to center field that slipped through the fielder’s glove cleared the bases, and suddenly it was a 4-3 ballgame.
Baumann’s day ended shortly after, finishing with a line of 5.2 innings pitched, allowing three runs, two of which were earned. He struck out seven and walked two in his outing. Joel Payamps got out of sixth with the lead and pitched a clean seventh for Gwinnett.
The Stripers put the game just out of reach in the ninth, as José Azócar launched a home run over the left field seats to make it a 5-3 ballgame going into the last frame. Louisville went down one-two-three, and the Bats picked up their fourth straight loss.
Balcazar was responsible for all of the runs scored on the Louisville side, whereas four different Gwinnett players were responsible for their five runs.
Louisville struck out 11 times in the contest. Outside of pitching in the second, the Bats' arms looked solid, striking out eight Stripers over five total pitchers. Jared Lyons allowed zero baserunners in the seventh inning, and both Conner Phillips and Hunter Parks struck out three apiece.
The Bats (57-70, 18-36 2nd half) continue their series against Gwinnett (65-63, 27-27 2nd half) at Louisville Slugger Field on Friday night. First pitch is set for 7:15 pm EST. Nick Curran and Jim Kelch will be on the call on Sports Talk 790.