Bats Drop Close Contest Against Indy 3-1

The Louisville Bats drop a close 3-1 game after late rallies came up empty against the Indianapolis Indians at Louisville Slugger Field on Friday night.

First-inning issues pertinent in the series continued into tonight, as Indy scratched across the first run of the day in the top of the first. After Humidity starter Jared Lyons (L, 1-3) issued a walk and a single, Johnathan Rodriguez scored a run on an RBI groundout to give the Indians a 1-0 lead.

Through three innings, Louisville struggled against Indianapolis starter Connor Weitgrefe (W, 4-3), getting blanked in the first third of the contest. That changed in the fourth, however, where Carlos Jorge scorched the first hit of the game for the Humidity. The young speedster worked his way to second with a stolen base, although the inning would end shortly after without scoring a run.

The Indians notched another run across in the top half of the fifth to add some insurance, as Johnathan Rodriguez rocketed an RBI single into center field. However, Jorge cut down a runner for an outfield assist to end the inning on the same play, leaving Indianapolis with a 2-0 lead.

After giving up his sixth walk of the day, Lyons exited the game after going 5.1 innings, surrendering two runs on three hits. Trevor Kuncl came in and put the inning to bed with an inning-ending double play.

Louisville turned up the heat on Indy with two runners in scoring position with nobody out in the sixth inning. Francisco Urbaez delivered by legging out an infield single that scored a run, cutting the lead down to 2-1.

Michael Chavis came out of the stretch hot with a leadoff double. P.J. Higgins roped a fly out to move him to third, and after an infield fly out, Weitgrefe’s day was done. The Indians starter went 6.2 innings while allowing one run on five hits, striking out four. CD Pelham came in and drew a groundout to end the inning without letting up the tying run.

When momentum seemed to be trending for Louisville, the Indians responded and tacked on some extra padding on the lead in the top of the ninth. With Luis Mey on the mound, Termarr Johnson clobbered a single to score a run, extending Indy's lead to 3-1.

Things were shut down in the ninth by Beau Burrows (SV, 9), and the Humidity fell to the Indians after a quick bottom of the ninth. Although offense was sparse for Louisville, Carlos Jorge had a multi-hit performance. Walks were the big story, as the Bats let up seven compared to Indy’s two.

The Bats (49-55) continue their series with the Indians (51-55) Saturday night. First pitch is set for 7:15 p.m. EST at Slugger Field. Nick Curran and Jim Kelch will be on the call on Sports Talk 790.