Bats Falter On The Fourth of July, Lose 4-1 To Columbus

The Louisville Bats couldn’t light enough offensive fireworks on Saturday night, falling 4-1 to the Columbus Clippers at Huntington Park. Hector Rodriguez and Will Banfield put together multi-hit performances, but the Bats couldn’t capitalize on key scoring opportunities throughout the game.

The Bats and Clippers were nearly identical in the first inning, with each team recording a single in an otherwise quick inning. Davis Daniel (L, 5-7) took the bump in the bottom frame and kept it scoreless. Rorik Maltrud (W, 2-0) took command on the mound in the second as well, striking out two batters in a 1-2-3 inning.

The Clippers got the scoring started in the bottom of the second with Daniel beginning the frame by letting up a walk. After P.J. Higgins made a nice pick at first on a ground out, Columbus brought home a run from second off an RBI single. However, that run would stand alone after Daniel found the zone for a strikeout on a full count, and Banfield gunned down a runner stealing second for an inning-ending double play.

Garrett Hampson gave the Bats a chance to respond, reaching base with a one-out double in the third. However, as Carlos Jorge shot a flair into left field, Hampson broke for third as Columbus outfielder Ralphy Velazquez made a spectacular diving catch and threw with plenty of time to second to get the opposition out of the inning.

The Clippers rode their momentum into the bottom half, slugging a solo home run to take a 2-0 lead after three. Once again, Louisville put themselves in a position to score with two runners in scoring position with an out in the fourth. Francisco Urbaez and Rodriguez each gathered a single to set up the scoring opportunity. Nevertheless, Maltrud forced a ground out from Higgins and struck out Austin Hendrick to keep the Bats scoreless.

Columbus continued to capitalize on Louisville’s shortcomings, as Daniel let up a leadoff solo homer to Velazquez to start the bottom frame. Even while allowing a subsequent triple, the Bats’ hurler worked through the trouble and kept the lead at 3-0.

Banfield provided the lone spark to Louisville’s offense, skying a leadoff solo shot to right field in the fifth to put the Bats on the board. The offense went down in order afterwards, but Daniel tossed a clean inning to keep the score at 3-1.

It didn’t take long for the Clippers to come back with their own response, as a double and a single brought home another run off of Daniel. He managed an out before he was pulled for Trevor Kuncl, finishing his line at 5.1 innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and three walks with four strikeouts. Kuncl also managed a scoreless seventh, even though he gave up a pair of singles in the process.

Louisville’s last gasp came in the eighth after Sam Haggerty walked and Rodriguez batted him to third with a single. With two outs, Urbaez struck out after Columbus elected for a new arm from the bullpen. Zach Maxwell battled through two walks for a scoreless bottom of the eighth, but the Bats came up short in the ninth to drop their third game of the series.

Rodriguez recorded his eighth game with three or more hits this season, while Banfield notched his eighth homer of the year with the lone scoring effort from Louisville. He also gathered his 13th multi-hit performance of the year, while Urbaez and Hampson recorded the only other hits on the night.

The Bats will wrap up their series against Columbus on Sunday afternoon, with first pitch set for 1:05 p.m. ET at Huntington Park. Julian Aguiar (1-3, 5.24) takes the bump after opening the series and will oppose Columbus starter Austin Peterson (3-2, 4.28). Nick Curran will have the call on Sports Talk 790.