Bats to Re-Air Broadcast of Team's First Ever Home Game at Louisville Slugger Field

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Louisville Bats are celebrating what would have been Opening Day for the 2020 season by re-airing the original broadcast from the team’s first ever home game at Louisville Slugger Field on April 12, 2000. The game will be streamed on Facebook Live this Thursday as part of the league-wide initiative, #MiLBAtHomeOpener, which seeks to bring baseball to fans from the comfort of their very own homes.

Fans can tune in to the original broadcast on the Bats’ Facebook page this Thursday, April 9, courtesy of WAVE3 and Texas Roadhouse. The game will start in-sync with the original first pitch at Louisville Slugger Field 20 years ago when the RiverBats took on the Norfolk Tides at 7:15 p.m. Longtime Bats broadcaster, Jim Kelch, had the call for the contest in a three-man booth with Scott Reynolds and Bob Domine, and the trio’s play-by-play will air with the video feed from the Bats’ game against the Tides.

Thursday’s re-airing of the 2000 home opener features appearances from NFL Hall-of-Famer Deion “Prime Time” Sanders and former Reds standout, catcher Jason LaRue, who both suit up for the RiverBats for the contest. Sanders scores the first run in Louisville Slugger Field history during the game by coaxing a leadoff walk in the first inning and scoring on an RBI single from Chris Sexton.

The Bats are also encouraging fans to participate in Thursday's festivities by recording themselves saying "play ball!" or recreating a "dance cam" at home as if they were at Louisville Slugger Field. Fans can share their videos on social media and the Bats will create a special compilation from the submissions to post on Thursday.

Following Thursday's broadcast, Louisville will continue its month-long initiative to celebrate the opening month of baseball by also re-airing the radio broadcast of classic matchups from the 2019 season each Friday during April. The games will air at 7 p.m. each Friday on 790 WKRD and include the following contests:

Week 1: Friday, April 10 – Gwinnett at Louisville (from April 11, 2019)
*Almost exactly one year to the day from last season, the Bats host their 2019 home opener against the Gwinnett Stripers. Louisville overcomes a 5-2 deficit to top Gwinnett 7-6 in thrilling fashion. Aristides Aquino homered and drove in three runs and Brian O’Grady went deep twice with three RBI.

Week 2: Friday, April 17 – Louisville at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (from July 19, 2019)
*The Bats storm back with four home runs in the ninth inning to force extra innings against the RailRiders. Blake Trahan delivers in the clutch in the top of the 10th inning with a two-out, bases-loaded single that proved to be the difference for the Bats.

Week 3: Friday, April 24 – Gwinnett at Louisville (from July 23, 2019)
*Six Louisville pitchers combine to limit Gwinnett to just one run on four hits, while Alex Blandino provides the spark for the Bats with a three-knock effort and walkoff homer in a 2-1 victory. The nailbiter was Louisville’s first walkoff win with a homer during a nine-inning game since 2016.

For additional information regarding the streaming schedule and all updates on the 2020 season, visit BatsBaseball.com.