Homers Launch Louisville To 7-4 Victory

With three home runs at the plate, the Louisville Bats lineup exploded, and the pitching held on late for a 7-4 win over the Clippers on Friday night at Huntington Park in Columbus.

The victory put the Bats a season-high five games over .500 for the first time at 24-19 and guarantees the Bats at least a split of the six-game road series.

Louisville got off to a quick start, claiming an early lead in the top of the second. Edwin Ríos kicked off the rally with a lead-off single and P.J. Higgins followed up with a double. Nick Martini then drew a walk for Peyton Burdick, who came through with a sac fly. For his second longball of the season, Austin Wynns smashed a three-run homer, giving Louisville a comfortable 4-0 advantage.

Following a quiet third inning from both teams, Martini smacked his third home run of the season, a 358-footer to left to strengthen the Bats lead at 5-0 in the fourth.

The Clippers fought back in the bottom half of the frame, stringing together several base hits and a walk. In the fifth, they took advantage of a wild pitch by Richardson and later scored thanks to a single from Michael Pries but ended the inning still down 5-3.

In his ninth start for Louisville this season, Richardson (W, 1-0) allowed three earned runs with two strikeouts in five innings of work to earn his first victory of the year. Relievers Justin Bruihl and Yosver Zulueta took over, clocking one and two strikeouts respectively and keeping the Clippers to one hit in three and hold the 5-3 lead through eight.

The Bats got back to work in the top of the ninth. After Martini was hit by a pitch, Erik González hit a two-run home run, his second of the season and first against his former team, extending Louisville’s lead to 7-3.

The Clippers scored once more, capitalizing on a hit by pitch, a single, and a double from Myles Straw to chip away at the Bats’ lead. Despite a bases-loaded situation with two outs in the ninth, Tony Santillan prevented further damage, leading Louisville to a 7-4 victory.

At the plate, Wynns was the only Bat to record more than one hit, going 2-for-4 with the three-run homer. Gonzalez drove in a pair with his home run while Martini scored three runs in the win.

The Bats (24-19) will play game five of six against the Clippers (17-25) on Saturday, May 18. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Huntington Park. Nick Curran will be on the call for 1450/96.1 WXVW.