Saints Walked-Off For Ninth Time, Lose 10-9 In 10 To Bats

LOUISVILLE, KY (July 9, 2022) - The St. Paul Saints stormed back from a five-run deficit with six outs to go. They took a two-run lead into the bottom of the 10th. They were one strike away from stealing a game they were on the verge of losing an hour prior. Instead, Ian Hamilton gave up a two-run, two-out, two strike pinch hit home run as the Saints lost 10-9 in 10 innings to the Louisville Bats on Saturday night at Louisville Slugger Field.

With the Saints down a run in the top of the ninth, John Andreoli led off with a walk. Michael Helman singled him to third and Jake Cave’s sacrifice line out to center tied the game at seven.

With one out in the 10th the Saints took their first lead of the game when Curtis Terry doubled down the left field line scoring placed runner Jermaine Palacios making it 8-7. Roy Morales followed with an RBI single scoring the pinch runner Elliot Soto giving the Saints a two-run cushion.

Ian Hamilton came on to close out the game and retired the first two batters, but then gave up an RBI single to Ronnie Dawson cutting the Saints lead to 9-8. That brought up pinch hitter Juniel Querecuto. On a 1-2 pitch he golfed one over the right field wall for a walk-off home run. It’s the eighth loss in extras for the Saints, the ninth walk-off loss, and the first courtesy of a home run.

The Saints only sent it to extras because they put together an impressive eighth inning after they gave up four in the seventh to trail 7-2. The Saints came storming back in the eighth with six consecutive hits with two outs. With two outs and nobody on Helman singled to right. Cave followed with a single to right putting runners at first and second. Tim Beckham reached on an infield single to second and the subsequent throwing error to first allowed Helman to score making it 7-3. Mark Contreras got the Saints to within 7-4 on an RBI single to center. An RBI single by Palacios made it 7-5. Caleb Hamilton then hit a pop up into shallow right that got lost in the sky and fell for an RBI double to get the Saints to within a run at 7-6. Curtis Terry was hit by a pitch to load the bases and the Bats brought in their closer Fernando Cruz. He got Roy Morales to ground out to end the inning.

For the 36th time in 82 games the Saints gave up a first inning run. With one out Isiah Gilliam lined a single into left. He stole second and scored on a two-out double by Colin Moran putting the Bats up 1-0.

The Bats added two more in the third when Stuart Fairchild led off with a single to center and Dawson followed with a two-run homer to left, his sixth of the season, making it 3-0.

In the third, the Saints got a run back. Andreoli reached on a two-out infield single to third. He stole second and scored on an RBI single to center by Michael Helman cutting the deficit to 3-1.

Andreoli got the Saints to within a run in the sixth with a solo homer down the left field line, his fifth with the Saints and seventh on the season, making it 3-2.

The Bats tried to put the game away in the seventh with a four spot. Dawson led off the inning with his second homer of the game, a solo blast to right, his seventh of the season, putting the Bats up 4-2. With one the Bats loaded the bases on a TJ Friedl bunt single, an Alejo Lopez single to center, and a walk to Gilliam. An RBI single from Cristian Santana made it 5-2. Colin Moran made it 6-1 with an RBI groundout and a wild pitch scored Gilliam increasing the lead to 7-2. That lead wasn’t too much to overcome, but just as the Bats had squandered a lead, so too would the Saints in the end.

The same two teams meet in the finale game of the six-game series on Sunday afternoon at 12:05 p.m. (CT) at Louisville Slugger Field. The Saints send RHP Dereck Rodríguez (5-2, 4.98) to the mound against Bats LHP Justin Nicolino (1-3, 6.75). The game can be seen on MiLB.TV and heard on KFAN Plus, 96.7 FM.