Rios Devours Shrimp With Another Walk-Off Homer

Lightning struck twice for the Louisville Bats on Harry Potter Night at Louisville Slugger Field. Incredibly for the second straight night, Edwin Rios launched a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth, this time powering the Bats to a 4-3 win over the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp on Friday night to extend their winning streak to three games.

In the top of the ninth, Yosver Zulueta (W, 3-2) returned to the mound for his second inning of work. He got into a little bit of trouble, as a pair of singles put the go-ahead run at second with two outs. Zulueta was able to get through it by inducing a ground out from Javier Sanoja, sending the game to the bottom of the ninth in a 3-3 tie.

Facing Jacksonville reliever Austin Roberts (L, 0-1) in the bottom of the inning, Rios connected on the first pitch he saw, crushing a 419-foot solo blast onto the left field berm for his team-leading 18^th home run of the season, sending the crowd and his Bats teammates into pandemonium. As he crossed home plate with his second consecutive walk-off blast and fourth home run of the week, Rios was doused with a water cooler and embraced by his teammates.

The game began later than expected, as rain caused a delay of an hour and 18 minutes. Following the delay, Bats southpaw Brandon Leibrandt began the game in fine form, allowing a single and a walk over the first three innings. In the bottom of the frame, Louisville would break through against Jacksonville righty Jeff Lindgren. Jacob Hurtubise was hit by a pitch, Levi Jordan singled, and Rios walked to load the bases with one out. Two hitters later, P.J. Higgins hit a hard ground ball down the left field line for a two-run double, bringing Hurtubise and Jordan home for a 2-0 advantage.

Leibrandt made quick work of the Jumbo Shrimp in the fourth but struggled in the fifth. Jakob Marsee began the inning with his first Triple-A home run, a solo shot down the right field line. A walk and a double put the tying run on third with one out. Sanoja was able to get the game tied on a sacrifice fly, bringing home Diego Infante as Higgins was unable to corral the throw home from Hurtubise.

The fifth would be Leibrandt’s final inning. Facing his former team, the Louisville lefty allowed two runs on three hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. For the Jumbo Shrimp, Lindgren also pitched five innings, giving up two runs on eight hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Neither starter would factor in the final decision.

Sam Benschoter was first out of the Louisville bullpen and hit the first batter he faced. Two walks later loaded the bases. Dalvy Rosario would give the visitors the lead with an RBI infield single, but Marsee was thrown out at home trying to score all the way from second, keeping the deficit at one. The Bats would tie the game against Jacksonville reliever Raffi Vizcaino in the bottom of the frame, with Erik Gonzalez coming around to score on an error from Spohn to even the score at 3-3. Both Benschoter and Vizcaino maintained the tie in the eighth.

Zulueta and Roberts were each sharp in the eighth to keep the score tied, setting the stage for more Rios heroics. Rios finished 2-for-4 with the home run. Jordan and Higgins also recorded a pair of hits in the victory.

The Bats (61-74, 23-38 second half) and Jumbo Shrimp (64-70, 29-30 second half) continue the series on Saturday night at Louisville Slugger Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Nick Curran and Jim Kelch will be on the call for 1450/96.1 WXVW.