Bats Season Ends in 2-0 Shutout Loss Against Toledo

The Louisville Bats season ended in shutout fashion, dropping the finale against the Toledo Mud Hens 2-0 on Sunday afternoon at Fifth Third Field.

Sparse hitting and great pitching led to a slow offensive day for both teams, but the Mud Hens managed to pull through in the game that took just an hour and 55 minutes.

After a quiet first few innings, Toledo got on the board first after getting their first two runners on base, followed by RBI singles courtesy of Corey Julks and Justice Bigbie to make it 2-0 after four.

That led to starter Chase Solesky’s (L, 6-7) day being done. He went 3.2 innings and allowed two runs on four hits while striking out five.

After 5.0 innings, Carl Edwards Jr. (W, 8-10) made his exit for Toledo. He struck out five and surrendered two hits to the Bats offense.

The rest of the contest was a battle of the bullpens, with the combined five relievers now allowing a hit or walk from the bottom of the fourth inning until one out in the bottom of the eighth. Cam Cotter, Zach Maxwell, and Hunter Parks were on fire, striking out a combined five batters to keep the deficit at two.

On the Mud Hens side, Enmanuel De Jesus, Yilber Díaz, and Jack Little (S, 6) held Louisville in check, striking out a combined five batters of their own.

Down to their last inning of the year, Garrett Hampson got the Bats' first hit since the top of the fourth. Unfortunately, it didn't lead to any runs, and Louisville ended their season with a shutout loss to Toledo, 2-0.

The Bats were held to just three hits in their final game of the season and struck out 10 times total, which equaled the Mud Hens. Pitching, aside from the two runs scored, was very solid, with Maxwell the most efficient, striking out three in 2.0 clean innings.

The Bats end the season with a record of 65-83 and 26-49 in the second half after going 39-34 in the first half.

The Bats open the 2027 season on March 26, when they travel up to St. Paul to take on the Saints.