Errors Costly For Bats In 5-3 Loss

The Louisville Bats fought back to make it a close game, but their defensive miscues created a hole that was too big to climb out of in a 5-3 loss to the Indianapolis Indians in front of an Independence Day crowd of 13,323 at Victory Field on Thursday night.

The Bats looked to threaten against Indianapolis starter Jake Woodford right from the start, as Jacob Hurtubise was hit by a pitch and Rece Hinds singled to put runners on the corners with nobody out. But a shallow fly out, a strikeout, and a ground out got Woodford through the inning unscathed.

Louisville’s defense let them down in the bottom of the first. Three errors from Bats infielders and a pair of Indians singles gave the home team an early 2-0 lead against Bats righty Lyon Richardson.

The Bats got one of the runs right back in the top of the second. Conner Capel kept the inning alive with a two-out double down the left field line. Erik Gonzalez followed with an RBI single to left, plating Gonzalez to get Louisville on the board.

Richardson settled down after the rocky first, striking out a pair in the second and working around a one-out single in the third. He was at his best in the fourth, striking out the side to keep the deficit at one.

Facing Indians reliever Luis Cessa (W, 3-3) in the fifth, the Bats got singles from Hurtubise and Livan Soto to put the tying run in scoring position with two outs. But P.J. Higgins lined out to center, keeping the Bats down a run.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Indians were able to extend their lead. Ji Hwan Bae reached with a one-out triple. Alika Williams plated Bae with an RBI single, and Jake Lamb later doubled into the right field corner to score Williams and make it 4-1 Indians.

Richardson (L, 1-6) was pulled after five innings, allowing four runs, three earned, on seven hits without walking a batter and tying a season-high with eight strikeouts. However, he would suffer his sixth loss of the year.

Louisville again was quick to fight back in the sixth. Edwin Rios began the inning with a walk and later came around to score on a wild pitch. Capel took a two-out loss to keep the inning going and promptly stole second. Gonzalez again came through, crushing an RBI double off the center field fence to cut the Bats’ deficit to 4-3. With a chance to tie the game, Hurtubise struck out to end the inning.

Indianapolis added some breathing room off another Louisville error in the bottom of the inning against Casey Legumina, increasing the lead to 5-3. Alex Young and Alan Busenitz kept the deficit at two with clean innings, but Louisville would get no closer.

Brady Feigl retired the Bats in order in the eighth, and Ryder Ryan (S, 2) nailed down the save with a scoreless ninth.

Offensively, Gonzalez led the way for the Bats, going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI while Hurtubise was 1-for-2 with two walks. Capel scored twice, going 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base. As a team, the Bats committed a season-high four errors in the loss.

The Bats (41-42, 3-6 second half) and Indians (37-45, 4-5 second half) continue the series on Friday night. First pitch at Victory Field is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET. Nick Curran will be on the call for 1450/96.1 WXVW.