Defense Stellar For Bats In 4-3 Win

The Louisville Bats were strong in the field when they needed to be most while taking advantage of Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp errors to hang on for a 4-3 win, clinching a series victory on Saturday night at Louisville Slugger Field.

Bats righty Casey Kelly and Jacksonville starter Anderson Pilar traded zeroes from the outset, keeping the game scoreless for the first three innings.

The visitors would be the first to break through in the top of the fourth. Agustin Ramirez began the inning with a walk and Deyvison De Los Santos singled to put two on with nobody out. A double play would bring Ramirez home to open the scoring. Kelly rebounded with a scoreless top of the fifth, striking out a pair to end a solid start on the mound. Over five innings, he allowed one run on two hits with four walks and four strikeouts.

Pilar was pulled after three scoreless innings. The Bats then got the run back in the bottom of the fifth against Collin Lowe. Joey Wiemer began the inning with an infield single and advanced to third on a Jacksonville error. An Erik Gonzalez ground ball resulted in another double play, allowing Wiemer to score the tying run.

Lyon Richardson fired a scoreless top of the sixth but worked into a jam in the seventh and was removed in favor of Evan Kravetz. In that frame, a Diego Infante RBI single put the Jumbo Shrimp ahead off Richardson before a wild pitch from Kravetz (W, 6-3) later allowed Jacob Berry to score. Looking to add on, Jakob Marsee singled to right. Bats right fielder Bubba Thompson fielded and made a perfect throw to Tucker Barnhart at the plate, nailing Marsee trying to score and keep the score at 3-1.

The Bats would fight right back in the bottom of the seventh against Lowe. Wiemer got it started with his second single of the game. Barnhart then laced a double to the gap in right-center, allowing Wiemer to come all the way home. The relay throw from the Jumbo Shrimp was errant, giving Barnhart the chance to advance to third on the play. Gonzalez would cash in with an RBI single to left, tying the game at three. Ivan Johnson continued the rally with another single. Thompson grounded into a double play, allowing Gonzalez to come home with the go-ahead run.

Pitching with the lead, Alan Busenitz (S, 2) set the Jumbo Shrimp down in order quickly in the eighth. In the ninth, a single and a walk put the tying and go-ahead runs on base with nobody out. However, Dalvy Rosario’s sacrifice bunt attempt failed, as Busenitz was able to field and get the lead runner out at third. Busenitz then induced a game-ending double play from Harrison Spohn to finish the win and earn the save.

Wiemer went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, the only player on either team to get more than one hit. Both teams turned three double plays in the game, which was played in a brisk two hours and 19 minutes. The win is the Bats’ fourth in a row.

The Bats (62-74, 24-38 second half) and Jumbo Shrimp (64-71, 29-31 second half) end their season series on Sunday afternoon at Louisville Slugger Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. Nick Curran and Jim Kelch will be on the call for 1450/96.1 WXVW.