Bats Snap Losing Streak With 4-1 Victory Over Omaha

The Bats claimed their first win of the series against the Storm Chasers on Thursday night at Werner Park with a final score of 4-1, snapping their nine-game losing streak and putting the Bats back within one game of .500.

Omaha got off to a quick start, recording three consecutive singles to load the bases for Kevin Padlo. The left fielder then hit a sacrifice fly to drive in the game’s first run and put the Storm Chasers ahead 1-0 by the end of the second frame.

Back-to-back doubles from Levi Jordan and Blake Dunn got the Bats on the board in the top of the third against Chasers starter Andrew Hoffmann (L,1-2), evening the tally up at 1-1.

The Storm Chasers attempted to fight back in the bottom half of the inning as Michael Massey reached and advanced to third on throwing errors by P.J. Higgins and Michael Trautwein. Louisville starter Graham Ashcraft (W, 1-1) picked up his teammates, securing a lineout and two strikeouts to escape the inning with the tie intact.

Edwin Ríos kicked off a Bats rally in the top of the fourth, recording his second leadoff single of the night. Higgins then smacked a single, and Trautwein moved both runners into scoring position with a sac bunt. Conner Capel and Erik González drew back-to-back walks to drive in a run, giving Louisville a 2-1 advantage over Omaha.

After several quiet innings for both teams, the Bats started another scoring burst in the top of the eighth when Higgins claimed a two-out walk. Trautwein knocked an RBI double and Peyton Burdick followed up with an RBI single, propelling Louisville to a 4-1 lead.

Closer Tony Santillan (S, 12) was lights-out in the bottom of the ninth, claiming two strikeouts on his way to his IL-leading 12th save of the year.

Ashcraft tallied his first win and second quality start for Louisville. The righty recorded a season-high eight strikeouts and allowed just one earned run in six innings of work. Alan Busenitz, Alex Young, and Santillan combined to shut down the Chasers the rest of the way.

Dunn had three hits, a double, and an RBI to lead the effort at the plate, while Ríos added two hits, a double of his own, and scored a run.

The Bats (35-36) and Storm Chasers (49-21) will play game four of the series tomorrow, Friday, June 21, with the first pitch set for 8:05 p.m. Nick Curran will be on the call for 1450/96.1 WXVW.