2022 Louisville Bats Season Recap

By Conor Mullaney

November 15, 2022

From walk-off home runs and hitting for the cycle to setting a new franchise record in strikeouts and giving up the most home runs in the Louisville Slugger Field Era, the Louisville Bats faced it all in 2022. The following video, narrated by Director of Broadcasting Nick Curran, wraps up the season with some of its most memorable calls and moments. Additionally, a full, in-depth review of the season can be found below the video.

2022 REVIEW:The Louisville Bats finished the 2022 season with a 60-90 (.400) record, 31.5 games behind the International League West Division winner Nashville Sounds. 2022 marked the team's 10th straight losing season, extending the franchise record. The Bats finished both the home and road portions of the season with a 30-45 record. The 60 wins marks a five-win increase from 2021, though the Bats played 22 additional games in 2022.

ATTENDANCE HIGHLIGHTS:The Louisville Bats welcomed 424,035 fans through the Louisville Slugger Field gates in 2022 for an average of 5,730 per game with a season-high of 13,050 fans coming out for Thunder Over Louisville on 4/23. The attendance total was a drastic improvement over the COVID stricken 2021 total of 269,242 and was almost on par with the pre-COVID totals of 2019 when the Bats brought in 485,356 fans.

HOW MANY BATS WERE THERE:The Louisville Bats had a franchise record 94 different players suit up for the team this season. The new record surpasses the previous mark of 79 different players, set during the 2021 season. Additionally, the Bats made a whopping 293 total transactions on the year [April - 40, May - 60, June - 51, July - 34, August - 52, September - 51] after making 179 roster moves last season.

BATS/REDS CONNECTION:I-71 was wide open between Louisville and Cincinnati this season as 52 players suited up for both the Bats and the Reds this season, with 27 being position players and 25 being pitchers, after just 35 appeared with both teams in 2021. Additionally, of the 52 who spent time with both clubs this year, seven made their Major League Debut in *Daniel Duarte *(4/8), *Mark Kolozsvary *(4/20), *Graham Ashcraft *(5/22), *Chris Okey *(6/10), *Chuckie Robinson *(8/24), *Fernando Cruz *(9/2), *Spencer Steer *(9/2) and *Michael Siani *(9/22).

TOP PROSPECTS:The Louisville Bats saw a wealth of talent flow through the team during the 2022 season. Nine of the Cincinnati's Top 30 Prospects (according to MLB Pipeline) entering the season spent time with the Bats in some capacity with the top two prospects RHP *Hunter Greene *(1) and LHP *Nick Lodolo *(2) making rehab appearances while LHP *Brandon Williamson *(4), RHP *Graham Ashcraft *(8), OF *Michael Siani *(13), INF *Alejo Lopez *(23), RHP *Jared Solomon *(25), C *Mark Kolozsvary *(28) and RHP *Dauri Moreta *(29) all spent extended time in Louisville. After the midseason update, the Bats continued to feature three of the Reds top prospects in Williamson (6), INF *Spencer Steer *(7) and RHP *Levi Stoudt *(24).

REHABBERS PARADISE:The Bats had 24 different players on Major League rehab assignment play for the team this season, 11 pitchers: RHP Graham Ashcraft, RHP Luis Castillo, RHP Daniel Duarte, RHP Robert Dugger, RHP Justin Dunn, RHP Hunter Greene, LHP Nick Lodolo, LHP Mike Minor, RHP Connor Overton, RHP Lucas Sims, RHP Art Warren, and 13 position players: OF Albert Almora Jr., OF Aristides Aquino, IF Jose Barrero, OF Jake Fraley, C Aramis Garcia, IF Jonathan India, OF Tyler Naquin, IF Matt Reynolds, UTL Max Schrock, OF Nick Senzel, C Tyler Stephenson, IF Joey Votto. Ten players appeared for the Bats both as rehabbers and as actual members of the roster: Albert Almora Jr., Graham Ashcraft, Aristides Aquino, Jose Barrero, Daniel Duarte, Robert Dugger, Justin Dunn, Max Schrock, Connor Overton *and *Art Warren.

BATS SET FRANCHISE RECORDS IN 2022:In 2022, the Louisville Bats set a new franchise record for strikeouts as a pitching staff, ringing up a new season-high 1,309 opposing hitters. The previous record of 1,219 was set just last season, as the Bats continued the trend of upping the strikeout count in each of last three seasons (1,143 in 2019; 1,219 in 2021; 1,309 in 2022; all franchise records at the time). Louisville's hitters also set the franchise strikeout record this season, whiffing 1,319 times to best the previous high of 1,200 set in 2019. Additionally, the Bats set a new pitching franchise record for the most walks issued with 660 (previous high, 586 in 1999) and tied the franchise record for the fewest intentional walks issued with 6 (6 in 2010) and the fewest complete games with zero (0 in 2005). Louisville also set a new a franchise record by drawing just two intentional walks this season, the lowest total since the team drew seven in 2019.

PLAYER MILESTONES:Multiple Bats reached career Minor League milestones during the 2022 campaign:

PITCHERS:

Eddy Demurias - 150th game played, 200th inning pitched, 200th strikeout

Kyle Dowdy - 500th inning pitched

Ryan Hendrix - 200th inning pitched, 300th strikeout

Ben Lively - 150th game played, 800th inning pitched, 700th strikeout

Dauri Moreta - 200th game played

Justin Nicolino - 200th game played, 200th game started 400th RBI

Pedro Payano - 200th game played, 800th strikeout

Matt Pidich - 200th strikeout

HITTERS:

Lorenzo Cedrola - 600th game played, 700th hit

Ronnie Dawson - 600th game played, 500th hit

TJ Friedl - 500th hit

Isiah Gilliam - 600th hit

Mark Kolozsvary - 200th hit

Juniel Querecuto - 1000th game played, 1000th hit,

Alejo Lopez - 500th hit

Cristian Santana - 600th game played, 700th hit

CRUZ NAMED MARY E. BARNEY MVP**: Bats right-handed relief pitcher *Fernando Cruz *became the most recent honoree of the Louisville Bats team MVP award, the Mary E. Barney MVP. Cruz made 51 appearances with Louisville this season, earning a 4-4 record and 23 saves with a 2.89 ERA in 56.0 innings pitched, striking out 66 opponents while walking just 19 for a 1.04 WHIP and holding opponents to a .198 batting average. Cruz was dominant late in the season, going 3-1 with a 1.13 ERA in his last 27 outings (6/19-8/30). Over the stretch, Cruz recorded 40 strikeouts to just nine walks in 30.0 innings while converting 14 of 17 save opportunities. His 23 saves led all of Triple-A and he finished the season ranked first on the team in strikeouts (among relievers) and second in appearances and innings pitched and third in wins. Cruz was called up to the Major Leagues on Sep.1 and made his debut with the Reds on Sep. 2 against the Colorado Rockies, tossing one inning with his first two MLB strikeouts. At the time of his call-up Cruz led the International League with 51 appearances and ranked second among IL relievers with 56.0 innings pitched. Cruz became the first pitcher to win the award since *Kevin Quackenbush *won the award in 2018 and is just the third reliever to win the award, joining Quackenbush and *Jon Adkins *(2008).

FROM START TO FINISH:Just a single player remained on the team's active roster for the entirety of the 2022 season: outfielder Lorenzo Cedrola. Relief pitcher Pedro Payano *was the next closest to spending the entire season on the Bats' active roster, only missing three days on the suspension list. Right-handed pitchers *Eddy Demurias, *Ben Lively *and *Randy Wynne *each played the entire season with Louisville but spent some time on the injured list to round out the list of the five players who only played for the Louisville Bats in 2022.

WEEKLY AWARDS:The Bats had one player win International League weekly honors this season in right-handed pitcher Robert Dugger. Dugger was named the International League Pitcher of the Week for the week of July 25-31. For the week, Dugger made one start, turning in 6.2 innings of scoreless baseball, scattering three hits while striking out four and not allowing a walk to earn the win. Dugger is the first Louisville pitcher to earn IL Pitcher of the Week honors since right-hander *Tejay Antone *was honored for his efforts in the final week of the 2019 season (8/26-9/2) when he went 2-0 in two starts with a 1.29 ERA, allowing just two earned runs in 14.0 innings of work while striking out an incredible 19 opposing hitters with just a single walk.

YOU'RE UP ROOK:This season, eight Bats players were called up and made their Major League Debut, matching the eight players that made the jump last season.

*Daniel Duarte *Debut: April 8 (1.0ip, 1h, 2k) CIN Totals: 0-0, 10.13 ERA, 3g, 2.2ip, 3h, 3bb, 2k

*Mark Kolozsvary *Debut: April 20 (defensive sub in 7th) CIN Totals: .200 (4-for-20), 10g, 2-2b, 1-hr, 3rbi, 3r, 1bb, 9k

*Graham Ashcraft *Debut: May 22 (4.1ip, 4h, 2r, 2bb, 3k) CIN Totals: 5-6, 4.89 ERA, 19g (19s), 105.0ip, 71k, 30bb

*Chris Okey *Debut: June 10 (defensive sub in 8th) CIN Totals: .167 (2-for-12), 7g, 3r, 5k

*Chuckie Robinson *Debut: Aug. 24 (1-for-2, 1r, 1k) CIN Totals: .136 (8-for-59), 25g, 2-2b, 2-hr, 5rbi, 3r, 17k

*Fernando Cruz *Debut: Sep. 2 (1.0ip, 0h, 0r, 0bb, 2k) CIN Totals: 0-1, 1.23 ERA, 14g (2s), 14.2ip, 9bb, 21k

*Spencer Steer *Debut: Sep. 2 (2-for-2, 1-2b, 1-hr, 1rbi, 1r, 2bb) CIN Totals: .211 (20-for-95), 28g, 5-2b, 2-hr, 8rbi, 12r, 11bb, 26k

*Michael Siani *Debut: Sep. 22 (0-for-3, 2k) CIN Totals: .167 (4-for-24), 9g, 1r, 7k

BOMBS AWAY:Although not quite a franchise record, the Louisville Bats pitching staff gave up a whopping 170 home runs to opposing hitters this season, just one shy of the franchise record 171 given up in 1991. Despite not breaking the franchise record, this year's pitching staff did break the Cincinnati affiliation and Louisville Slugger Field era record, topping the previous high of 157 in 2019 for most home runs given up under Reds affiliation (since 2000).

OKEY SMOKES:On June 4 at Gwinnett, Bats catcher *Chris Okey *became the seventh player in franchise history to hit for the cycle in a game. Okey started his night with a single in the second inning, following it with a triple in the sixth and a home run in the seventh. With two outs in the ninth, Okey completed the feat with a double, finishing 4-for-5 at the plate while racking up five RBI and scoring twice. Okey's five RBI, three extra-base hits and ten total bases all marked team-highs for the season with his four hits tying the team-high. The cycle was the first by a Louisville player since *Brandon Dixon *on July 17, 2018 at Rochester.

LUCKY NUMBER 18:Louisville outfielder *Isiah Gilliam *proved to be a tough out in the September 19 contest with Nashville, going 3-for-4 the plate with two triples, two RBI and a run scored. Gilliam's two triples marked the first time and only time during the season a Bats hitter recorded multiple triples in a single game. The feat tied the franchise single game record, making Gilliam the 18th Louisville batter to record two triples in a single game since 1982. The last player to produce two triples in a game was *Phillip Ervin *when he did so in a 2-for-5 effort on June 3, 2018 against Gwinnett.

GONE STREAKIN':In 2022, the Louisville Bats went on two extended extra-base hit streaks. The team started the season with an extra-base hit in each of the first 47 games (April 5-May 29) for 112 total extra-base knocks, led by Lorenzo Cedrola *(7-2b, 1-3b, 3-hr) and *Ronnie Dawson *(7-2b, 4-hr) who tallied 11 extra-base hits each. The Bats topped the early streak with an impressive three month stretch, recording an extra-base hit in 77 consecutive games, racking up 227 total extra-base hits from June 18 to September 17. Ten different Bats hitters produced 10+ extra-base hits over the 77-game stretch, led by *Juniel Querecuto *(14-2b, 1-3b, 9-hr) with 24. Before its end, the streak was the longest active of its kind in all Minor League Baseball and was ranked as the fourth longest of the season (third longest in Triple-A). [Longest XBH Streaks of 2022 MiLB season - El Paso, 121g; St. Paul, 96g; Augusta, 80; *Louisville, 77]

Bats Hitters with 10+ XBH from 6/18-9/17

*Juniel Querecuto *- 24 - 14-2b, 1-3b, 9-hr *TJ Friedl *- 13 - 6-2b, 3-3b, 4-hr

*Cristian Santana *- 20 - 12-2b, 8-hr *Ronnie Dawson *- 12 - 6-2b, 6-hr

*Colin Moran *- 15 - 9-2b, 6-hr *Stuart Fairchild *- 12 - 6-2b, 1-3b, 5-hr

*Lorenzo Cedrola *- 14 - 10-2b, 3-3b, 1-hr *Spencer Steer *- 10 - 7-2b, 3-hr

*Isiah Gillam *- 14 - 8-2b, 1-3b, 5-hr *Jose Barrero *- 10 - 5-2b, 1-3b, 4-hr

SPLIT SEASON:The Louisville Bats closed out the lackluster 60-90 season in style, winning two of the final three games on the road in Gwinnett. The final series win capped an impressive season stat as the club finished the 2022 campaign with identical home and road records, going 30-45 both at Louisville Slugger Field and in ten different ballparks on the road.

JUNE-IEL QUERECUTO:Bats infielder *Juniel Querecuto *was red-hot during the month of June. In 23 games, Querecuto hit .326 (28-for-86) with a .385 OBP and .500 SLG, by far his highest slash line of the season (May - .254/.302/.373; July - .232/.302/.429; Aug. - .266/.314/.404; Sep. - .204/.241/.379). Of his 28 hits, Querecuto tallied ten extra-base hits, knocking seven doubles, a triple and two home runs while tallying nine RBI and 14 runs scored, adding three stolen bases. Querecuto started the month with a base hit in each of the first ten games and went hitless in just six over the month while turning in nine multi-hit games including a four-hit night (6/3 @ GWN) that marked his fourth career Triple-A game with 4 + hits and ninth of his minor league career.

CED-ROLLIN' ON:Louisville outfielder *Lorenzo Cedrola *began the season swinging the bat well, hitting a season-high .308 (28-for-91) in April. The hot streak continued into May as he hit .302 (16-for-53) in the first 12 games, but Cedrola stalled hard by the end of the month, recording just two hits in the final nine games (seven hitless) for an .063 (2-for-32) batting average. The slump wouldn't last long though as Cedrola racked up the hits to start June. In his first nine games of the month, Cedrola boasted a .421 average (16-for-38) as he recorded a hit in each of the first seven games and eight of the nine, recording multiple hits in six games.

RING 'EM UP:On June 22, Bats relief pitchers *Pedro Payano *(1k), *Matt Pidich *(3k), *Buck Farmer *(3k) and *Fernando Cruz *(1k) combined for eight straight strikeouts as they retired the final 10 I-Cubs hitters in regulation to keep Louisville in the game as the Bats rallied to even the score 4-4 and send the contest into extra innings f or the fourth straight Wednesday. Starter *Justin Nicolino *was pulled in the fifth inning after giving up four runs on eight hits with a single strikeout, giving way to the bullpen. Payano, Pidich, Farmer and Cruz took control of the game and dominated Iowa hitters, striking out 10 while only giving up three hits (two in regulation).

FREE BASEBALL WEDNESDAYS:Of the 19 extra-inning games the Louisville Bats played this season, five of them came on Wednesdays, including a stretch of four Wednesdays in a row. Starting with a 10.0 inning game June 1 at Gwinnett (L, 7-8), the Bats sent each of the first four Wednesday games in June to extra innings, playing 10.0 innings vs Charlotte on June 8 (L, 14-15), 12.0 innings at Durham (W, 9-7) and finally 10.0 innings vs Iowa (L, 4-5) for a 1-3 record. The fifth Wednesday extra-inning game came on July 6 when Louisville played a 10.0 inning game vs St. Paul, winning 7-6.

ABOUT THAT NIGHT...:On June 8 vs Charlotte, the Louisville Bats plated 10 runs in the fourth inning, the most runs the club scored in an inning all season and the most runs in an inning since the team scored 10 runs in the fifth inning of a 16-5 win over the Columbus Clippers on April 20, 2016. The June 8 contest featured 29 total runs between the Bats and Knights, ending in a 15-14 extra inning loss for the Bats. The 29 combined runs were one run shy of the franchise and Louisville Slugger Field era record 30 total runs in a game.

Louisville Slugger Field (est. 2000) Highest Scoring Games

Date Opponent Runs Score

April 26, 2019 Norfolk 30 L, 14-16

June 8, 2022 Charlotte 29 L, 14-15

April 13, 2014 Toledo 28 L, 8-20

May 12, 2002 Syracuse 28 L, 13-15

Louisville Franchise History (est. 1982) Highest Scoring Games

Date Opponent Runs Score

April 26, 2019 vs. Norfolk 30 L, 14-16

June 21, 1987 at Denver 30 W, 19-11

June 9, 1987 at Iowa 30 L, 12-18

MORAN ON A MISSION:Although he spent limited time in Louisville, infielder *Colin Moran *made a big impact with his ability to get on base. From July 1 to August 4, Moran was an on-base machine, reaching in 22 of 24 games played including a 17-game streak from July 1 to July 26, good for the second longest individual on-base streak by a Bats player this season. During the 24-game stretch, Moran hit .329 (28-for-85) with six doubles, four home runs, 12 RBI, 14 runs scored and 13 walks. Moran was on-base in 30 of his first 34 games played with Louisville and in 40 of his 53 total games played.

STEERING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION:Acquired by the Reds in trade with Minnesota, infielder *Spencer Steer *was a late addition to the Bats roster, joining the team on August 4. Steer made an instant impact in the lineup, tallying a base hit in each of his first four games to kick off a team and season-high 18-game on-base streak (8/4-8/24). Over the stretch, Steer hit .310 (22-for-71) with five doubles, three home runs, 10 RBI, 12 runs scored and a stolen base while notching six multi-hit games. Steer's stay with Louisville was limited to just the month of August as he got the call to go to Cincinnati where he finished the season. With Louisville, Steer was a utility guy, playing all four infield positions (1B, 2B, SS, 3B) and right field. In 23 games with the Bats, he hit .293 (27-for-92) with seven doubles, three home runs, 13 RBI, 14 runs scored and one stolen base.

YOU SHALL NOT GET A FREE PASS:Despite setting a new franchise record for walks given up in a season, the Louisville Bats pitching staff had a game-low zero walks five times this season. The Bats achieved the feat for the first time on May 28 in a 7.0 inning game against Omaha. On August 2 in Indianapolis, the Bats turned in their best strikeout to walk ratio of the season, striking out 15 Indians while not walking any. The last time the Bats didn't allow a walk was on August 27 at Toledo. Over the five games, Louisville finished with a 3-2 record, including two shutout wins and a shutout loss, giving up 14 runs on 40 hits with 47 strikeouts.

Louisville Bats Games W/ Zero Walks Issued

Date Opponent Hits Strikeouts Score

August 27, 2022 at Toledo 11 4 L, 0-3

August 3, 2022 (G2) at Indianapolis 11 7 W, 9-6

August 2, 2022 at Indianapolis 8 15 L, 4-5 (10)

June 23, 2022 vs Iowa 6 13 W, 3-0

May 28, 2022 vs Omaha 4 8 W, 3-0

SWING AND A MISS:Through the first 11 games of August, the Louisville Bats were the source of a lot of swings and misses, leading the International League in strikeouts as a pitching staff and ranking second in hitting strikeouts. Over the 11 games, the Bats pitching staff filled up the zone, striking out 108 batters (2nd most in Triple-A, Oklahoma City - 112), 9.8 per game, for a 25.8% strikeout rate. On the other hand, Bats hitters struck out 106 times in 11games, the second most offensive strikeouts in the International League behind Indianapolis (112), 9.6 times per game at a 28.2% K-rate.

LOCKED IN ON D:After recording a season-high five errors on May 15 against Toledo, the Louisville Bats buckled down and got to work on defense. Over the next 31 games (May 16-June 21), the Bats committed just 12 errors in 1062 total chances for an International League leading .989 fielding percentage (2nd in Triple-A, Tacoma - .991). From Opening Day to May 15, the Bats had the third-lowest fielding percentage (.968) and had committed the third most errors (41 E - 1279 TC) in Triple-A. Louisville also turned in an impressive stretch of defensive play from August 21 to September 9 as the club turned at least one double play in 17 consecutive games, the longest streak of the season. From August 13 to September 9 the Bats turned 36 double plays, the most in Minor League Baseball during the stretch, and committed just ten errors in 873 total chances for an International League leading (2nd in MiLB) .988 fielding percentage. On the season, Louisville committed 109 errors, the 12th fewest in the IL. The error total is the most by the team in the last four seasons (2021 - 91; 2019 - 90; 2018 - 94), but that stat can be misleading as the Bats played their longest schedule to date, playing 150 games in 2022 compared to 128 games in 2021, 140 games in 2019 and 137 games in 2018.

GILLIAM 478:On July 24 against Nashville, Louisville outfielder *Isiah Gilliam *blasted his first career Triple-A home run, a three-run shot over the right field wall. While significant to Gilliam as his first Triple-A home run, the homer landed him in the Louisville Bats history books as the ball traveled an estimated 478 feet, good for the sixth longest home run in Louisville Slugger Field history (since 2000). The last player to etch their name on the list was Louisville native *Adam Duvall *exactly three years to the day earlier (7/24/19) when he launched a 490-foot home run playing for Gwinnett against the Bats.

STARTING FINE:Five times this season each of the Louisville Bats starting nine recorded at least one base hit in the same game. The Bats accomplished the feat for the final time in the last game of the season on September 28 when the team combined for 12 hits to beat the Gwinnett Stripers. Louisville also completed the feat on August 23 at Toledo (W, 7-3, 11 hits), July 16 at Scranton Wilkes-Barre (W, 8-3, 16 hits), June 8 vs Charlotte (L, 14-15, 18 hits) and April 23 vs Iowa (W, 4-3, 15 hits). Louisville went 4-1 in games in which all nine starters recorded a base hit and collected a season-high 18 hits in the June 8 game against Charlotte.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS:Bats right-handed starter *Deck McGuire *was one of the more effective starters on the roster late in the season. With McGuire earning a win on September 9, he became the first Louisville starter in the previous 12 games (August 27-September 9) to earn a winning decision. Over the stretch, Bats starters earned just three decisions, taking a loss in each contest (8/27 at Toledo, L, 0-3; 8/28 at Toledo, L, 2-6; 9/3 vs Indianapolis, L, 1-4 (7)) while not factoring into the final decision nine times, including each of the last four games before McGuire's win. The last starter to earn a win was McGuire on August 25 at Toledo. McGuire also became the just the third pitcher in the last 20 games (August 16-September 9) to throw 6.0+ innings in a start, joining Randy Wynne (6.1ip on 8/27 at Toledo and 6.1ip on 8/16 vs Omaha) and Brandon Williamson (6.0ip on 8/17 vs Omaha). On the season, Louisville starters went 21-45 in 150 games and finished T-5th for lowest win total for starting pitchers in the International League.

FRIEDL ON FIRE:Louisville outfielder *TJ Friedl *was red-hot in his final two months with the Bats. From July 1 to August 12, Friedl went on a tear at the plate, slashing .333/.393/.505 in 31 games. In July alone, Friedl hit an impressive .343 (23-for-67) with four doubles, two triples and a home run, recording six multi-hit games while reaching base in 18 of his 20 games played. He was on another level in Scranton Wilkes-Barre (7/12-717), hitting .455 (10-for-22) with two doubles, a triple, a home run, seven RBI, four runs scored and two stolen bases while only striking out twice in his 22 plate appearances. Friedl played in all six games of the series with the RailRiders and recorded multiple hits in four of the contests. Overall, Friedl reached base in 27 of his 31 games played during the stretch (including a 12-game streak from 7/9-7/29) and only struck out 22 times in 120 plate appearances.

STEAL-TEMBER:The Louisville Bats showed an increased effectiveness in stealing bases in the month of September. Louisville stole a base in five consecutive games (eight total) from 9/14-9/18, the only time the club stole a bag in five straight games this season. The Bats stole a base in four consecutive games from July 9-13 when they swiped six bags over the four contests. The Bats stole a season-high 21 bases in September, starting the month 11-for-11. The 11-for-11 start and two failed attempts also marked season bests for the Bats. Although Louisville ranked last in the International League with 94 stolen bases, the total was the most stolen bases in a sea son since 2013 when the Bats stole 144 bags.

DOWN ON STRIKES:In a 7-6 extra inning (10) victory over St. Paul, Louisville pitching combined to strike out 17 Saints in the game. The total was the most strikeouts by Louisville pitching since April 20, 2019 when Bats pitchers whiffed 22 hitters in a 3-1 win in Indianapolis. The 22 strikeout game was spearheaded by Lucas Sims who punched out 13 batters in just 5.2 innings of work, with the 17 strikeout game being a true team effort with all seven Bats pitchers contributing to the total, and six of the seven tallying more than one K in the game [ *Justin Dunn *- 4k, *Pedro Payano *- 2k, *Phillip Diehl *- 2k, *Kyle Zimmer *- 3k, *Eddy Demurias *- 2k, *Buck Farmer *- 3k, *Fernando Cruz *- 1k]

THAT TOOK FOREVER:The Louisville Bats played a number of long games in a variety of ways during the 2022 season. The longest game by time this season was a 3:44 ten inning affair on September 16 at St. Paul, resulting in a 7-6 loss for the Bats. The longest game by innings this season was a 12-inning win (9-7) on June 15 at Durham. Louisville played nine inning games in average of 2:39 in 2022 (nine minutes faster than the 2:48 average time in 2021) but played a 3:30 nine inning contest on April 9 at home against the Saints (L, 1-11). Finally, the Bats experienced delays of varying length throughout the season but none as drawn out as the 2:33 total delay time on August 21 vs Omaha (W, 7-6).

RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY:The Bats were handed their seventh shutout loss of the season of the season on July 28, falling to Columbus 6-0 in five + innings. The game was called early due to massive rain fall, marking the only game the Bats were forced to end early due to weather in 2022. The team had three road games suspended due to weather this season, 4/12 at Omaha, 5/5 at Indianapolis and 5/21 at Nashville in addition to two games postponed due to weather, a road game on 5/6 at Indianapolis and a home game on 5/24 against Omaha.

WYNNE-ING WAYS:Louisville starter *Randy Wynne *didn't have the best start to his Triple-A career this season with the Bats. After turning in a strong debut on April 7 vs St. Paul (5.0ip, 5h, 1r, 0bb, 0k), Wynne spiraled down quickly, losing his next three starts before getting a win in his fifth start of the season (4/30 at Columbus, W, 4-3). That would be Wynne's only win as we end up losing six of his next nine starts to begin the year just 1-9, very much on pace to break the franchise single season record of 14 losses, achieved by *Daniel Corcino *in 2013. Wynne turned his season around from there, winning three of his next four starts and five of his final 12 (6/30-9/24) while only recording two losses for a 5-2 record. Wynne finished the season 6-11, recording the most wins on the team.

JULY MAGIC:With a 3-2 win over the Columbus Clipper on July 30, the Louisville Bats clinched its first, and only, winning month of the 2022 season. The winning July marked the third time in the last four full seasons the Bats ended July with a record above .500 (16-12 in 2018, 15-12 in 2019). The Bats finished July with a 13-11 record, the most wins in a month for the season. The winning record also marked the first winning month for the club since September 2021 when the team went 14-11.

WALK-OFF FASHION:In 2022, the Louisville Bats played in 16 games decided by a walk-off hit, going 6-10 in such games. The Bats won their six walk-off games in a variety of ways, including a pinch hit home run and an infield single. Louisville Walk-Off Wins: 4/21 vs Iowa - *Cristian Santana *double; 7/6 vs St. Paul - *Stuart Fairchild *sac-fly; 7/9 vs St. Paul - *Juniel Querecuto *pinch hit, 2-run home run; 7/30 vs Columbus - *Alejo Lopez *infield single; 8/17 vs Omaha - *Isaiah Gilliam *3-run home run; 8/30 vs Indianapolis - *Stephen Piscotty *single. Louisville didn't give up many big hits when it came to opponent walk-offs, losing on a walk-off single five of the ten times, only giving up two extra-base hits in total (double on 6/1 at Gwinnett, home run on 5/1 at Columbus). Of the Bats six walk-off wins, only two came against the same opponent - July 6 and 9 against St. Paul; however, Louisville lost two walk-off games to the same team three different times - April 26 and May 1 at Columbus, August 2 and 3 at Indianapolis and September 16 and 17 at St. Paul.

EXTRA, EXTRA:The Louisville Bats played in 19-extra inning games in 2022, two more than the 17 extra-inning games the team played in 2021 and six more than the 13 extra-inning contests in 2019. The 19 extra-inning games put Louisville in the upper ranks of all affiliated baseball this season, ranking T-4th across all leagues (MLB, MiLB) (3rd in Triple-A, 2nd in International League). The Bats went 6-11 in extra-inning games this year, continuing the downward trend started in 2019 (6-11 in 2021, 6-7 in 2019). Prior to 2019, Louisville played five consecutive seasons with a record of .500 or better in extra-inning games.

HEY PINCH HITTER:in 2022, the Louisville Bats recorded two pinch hit home runs, the first from Trey Amburgey *on May 21 and the second from *Juniel Querecuto *on July 9. The two pinch hit homers mark the third consecutive season the Bats have hit two or more pinch hit home runs (2019 - *Narciso Crook, Sherman Johnson *and *Chadwick Tromp; 2021 - Michael De Leon **and Jan Hernandez). Querecuto's pinch hit bomb on July 9 against St. Paul was the deciding factor as he launched a two-run walk-off shot to give Louisville a 10-9 win in the tenth inning. Querecuto's homer was the first of its kind in ten years, following **Daryl Jones' heroic effort on April 22, 2012 when he blasted a three-run shot to lift the Bats 3-2 over the Indianapolis Indians.

ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END:On May 18, outfielder Aristides Aquino's lengthy on-base streak came to an end at 26 games. The streak spanned three seasons as Aquino began the streak on July 18, 2019, continued the streak in 2021 and finally ended the streak in 2022 (May 17). At the time, Aquino was T-1st for the longest active streak in Triple-A and was the fifth longest in all of Minor League Baseball. During the streak, Aquino hit .315 (29-for-92) with six doubles, ten home runs, 24 RBI, 16 runs, two stolen bases and 14 walks. Since 2005 (MLBAM), Louisville hitters have produced an on-base streak of 26 or more games nine times, led by Joey Votto's franchise record 42-game streak from May 4, 2007 to June 20, 2007. [Louisville On-Base Streaks 26+ since 2005: Aristides Aquino - 26g - 7/18/19-5/17/22; *Nick Senzel *- 27g - 5/30/18-4/30/19; *Kristopher Negron *- 27g - 5/2/14-6/8/14; *Mike Hessman *- 28g - 4/28/13-6/2/13; *Corky Miller *- 26g - 6/612-7/20/12; *Drew Sutton *- 35g - 5/7/10-6/18/10; *Kevin Barker *- 28g - 7/6/09-8/10/09; *Andy Phillips *- 27g - 4/27/08-5/26/08; *Joey Votto *- 42g - 5/4/07-6/20/07]**

A NIGHT TO FORGET:On Wednesday May 25, the Louisville Bats faced off against the Omaha Storm Chasers in a game the franchise would probably like to forget. The Bats lost the contest 19-0 and saw a new franchise record set for most hits allowed by Louisville with 25, surpassing the previous high of 24 hits allowed in a 15-8 loss to Scranton on May 26, 2014, almost eight years to the day earlier. The 19 runs allowed were the most given up by the Bats since game one of a doubleheader on May 31, 2014 when Louisville lost 19-3 in Columbus. Additionally, the game marked the largest shut-out loss in Louisville franchise history (since 1982), topping an 18-0 loss on May 15, 1999 at Pawtucket.

MINOR ACCOMPLISHMENT**: On Friday May 27, Reds rehabber *Mike Minor *was immaculate, striking out all three batters he faced on nine pitches in the top of the third inning against the Omaha Storm Chasers. The immaculate inning was the first for a Bats pitcher since *Reiver Sanmartin *accomplished the feat in the bottom of the fourth inning on September 19, 2021 in Memphis. On September 21, Nashville Sounds pitcher Cam Robinson became the second pitcher to turn in an immaculate inning at Louisville Slugger Field in 2022, doing so in the ninth inning to close out the game.

POSITION PLAYER PITCHING ALERT:On September 21, Game 144 of the season, the Louisville Bats still managed to accomplish a season first. With two outs in the top of the ninth inning, infielder Michael De Leon traded out his first baseman's glove for a regular fielder's mitt as he took the mound as the first, and only, position player to pitch in a game for the Bats this season, forcing the only batter he faced into an easy ground out. The appearance was De Leon's first of his career and the first since Braxton Lee tossed 1.0 inning (0h, 0r, 1bb, 0k) on September 15, 2021 at Gwinnett. Before this season, Louisville has had at least two position player pitching appearances in each of the past two seasons. [Louisville Position Players Pitching Appearances: 2022 - Michael De Leon - 9/21/22 - 0.1ip, 0h, 0r, 0bb, 0k; *Braxton Lee *- 9/15/21 - 1.0ip, 0h, 0r, 1bb, 0k; *Errol Robinson *- 0.1ip, 1h, 0r, 0bb, 0k; *Courtney Hawkins *- 4/28/19 - 1.0ip, 1h, 0r, 0bb, 0k; *Alberti Chavez *- 5/25/19, 5/28/29 & 6/26/19 - 5.0ip, 11h, 7r (4er), 6bb, 0k, 2-hr; *Christian Colon *- 8/4/19 - 2.0ip, 3h, 2r, 1bb, 0k]**

THRICE IS NICE: The Louisville Bats accomplished two feats revolving around the number three this season. On June 16 vs Iowa, Alejo Lopez, Taylor Motter and Stuart Fairchild launched back-to-back-to-back home runs, the first time Louisville hitters had done so since May 13, 2002 when Brandon Larson, Donny Leon and Ben Broussard hit three bombs in a row in a 13-7 win over Syracuse. On the defensive side, the Bats turned the ever illusive triple play on August 25 in Toledo when Spencer Torkelson lined out to first baseman Colin Moran and then stepped on first to double up the runner before throwing to third-baseman Spencer Steer covering second base for the third out. The play marked the first time Louisville turned a triple play since 3B Edwin Encarnacion, current Bats hitting coach 2B Alex Pelaez and 1B Ricky Bell combined accomplished the feat in a 10 inning, 6-5 win in Pawtucket on July 20, 2005.