Bats Never Trail In 4-2 Win Over RailRiders

The Louisville Bats triumped by a score of 4-2 behind a dazzling start by lefty Brandon Leibrandt on Friday night at PNC Field, evening the series at two games apiece.

Leibrandt (W, 2-2) completed 6.0 innings, allowing just one run and striking out four while earning the win. Christian Roa, Evan Kravetz, and Zach Maxwell combined to hold the RailRiders at bay through the final three frames.

Ivan Johnson hit his first career Triple-A home run and added a sacrifice fly to continue his hot hitting. Blake Dunn and P.J. Higgins each recorded two hits to round out a solid offensive effort for Louisville.

Although rain delayed the start of the game, it couldn’t delay the Bats offense in the first. Dunn led off with a single vs. RailRiders starter Thomas Pannone (L, 5-9) and later advanced to third on a single by Rece Hinds. A double steal by the two Bats’ stolen base leaders allowed Dunn to cross home plate and give the Bats an early 1-0 lead.

Leibrandt put the RailRiders down in order in the bottom of the first and the Bats offense got right back to work in the second. Continuing the torrid start to his Louisville career, Johnson launched a solo shot over the center field wall to double the Bats lead at 2-0.

Leibrant posted two more zeros before the Bats were able to do more damage in the fourth. Edwin Rìos led off with a single, advanced to second on a wild pitch by Pannone, and went 90 more feet to third on a single by Higgins. After Davis Wendzel struck out, Johnson picked him up with a deep sacrifice fly that easily scored Ríos and increased the Bats lead to 3-0.

In the home half, the RailRiders made a small dent in an otherwise stellar outing by Leibrandt. T.J. Rumfield led off with a double and would later score on an RBI double by Kevin Smith to get Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on the board at 3-1.

The offenses went quiet through the next two frames, as Leibrant completed his day with a scoreless sixth. Roa was first out of the bullpen for the Bats in the bottom of the seventh and gave up a solo home run to J.C. Escarra, the first RailRider he faced, but was able to hold on to the 3-2 lead heading into the eighth.

Roa remained in for the bottom of the eighth and was able to get two outs with a walk in between. Kravetz came in for the lefty-lefty matchup and forced Taylor Trammell to ground out to end the frame.

The Bats added a run in their half of the ninth after Jacob Hurtubise walked and later came around to score on a Ríos sacrifice fly to make the score 4-2. Maxwell (S, 3) was trusted with the save chance and impressed with a two-strikeout shutdown inning to finalize his second consecutive save and the Bats second straight win.

The Bats (51-53, 13-17 second half) and RailRiders (58-47, 15-16 second half) will continue their series on Saturday, August 3 with a day-game matchup. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. at PNC Field with Nick Curran on the call for 1450/96.1 WXVW.