IL1 Louisville Bats

Bats club Braves, 11-5

Published on June 22, 2009 under International League (IL1)
Louisville Bats News Release


Louisville, KY - On a muggy Monday night, the Louisville Bats survived a late scare and took the series finale against the Gwinnett Braves, 11-5. In doing so, the Bats evened their record against Gwinnett, winning two of four games. Louisville's offense proved to be too much for the Braves tonight, as the Bats hit five home runs for the first time since May 30th, 2007 in Charlotte. The franchise record for home runs in a game is six, which has occurred three times. 7,588 fans gathered to watch this offensive onslaught as the Bats' concluded an eight-game home stretch at Louisville Slugger Field.

Bats' starter Homer Bailey (8-5, 2.71) came into the game boasting scoreless outings in three of his last four starts. Braves' leadoff man Reid Gorecki didn't seem to be phased at all, taking Bailey deep on the third pitch of the game. The 405-foot shot by Gorecki gave the Braves an early 1-0 lead in the first. The home run was the first off of Bailey since May 13th at Durham.

Bailey settled in nicely for the Bats, striking out eight batters over seven solid innings. The only run he allowed was the leadoff home run to Gorecki. He has given up only a pair of runs in his last 38.1 innings, dating back to June 2nd at Pawtucket. With the win, Bailey has now been on the positive side in five of his last six starts.

Darnell McDonald retaliated for the Bats in the bottom of the first. With one out, McDonald launched a 420-foot bomb to the lawn in left-center, tying the score 1-1.

With the game still tied in the bottom of the second, the Bats were able to string together a trio of hits to push across another run. Danny Dorn doubled off of the wall in left-center field to start the inning. One out later, Craig Tatum beat out an infield single to put runners on corners. Braves' starter Tony Armas was able to strike out Homer Bailey, but conceded a two-out run-producing single off of the bat of Norris Hopper, making the tally 2-1 in favor of Louisville.

Kevin Barker added his team-leading 12th home run of the year in the third. The 388-foot line drive managed to clear the wall in right-center field, extending the Bats' lead to 3-1. Barker, who finished the game 2-for-2, moved into second place on the all-time Bats' doubles list, with his two-bagger in the first. He now trails Gene Roof by only five doubles for first place.

A bizarre sequence of events occurred in the fourth, with runners on the corners and Drew Sutton at the plate. Sutton popped out to catcher Alvin Colina. Colina then snapped a throw to first base, which caught McDonald by surprise. With McDonald in a run-down, Norris Hopper broke home and was able to sneak in to score, due to an errant throw by Brooks Conrad. The Bats' next batter, Barker, was hit by a pitch in the right knee, sending him to the dirt. Following Barker, Edwin Encarnacion took full advantage of his at-bat, punishing a pitch by Armas over the wall for a three-run homer, giving the Bats a 7-1 lead.

Barker left the game in the fifth inning for precautionary reasons, after being plunked on the right knee.

Louisville scored again in the fifth, pushing the Bats' edge to 8-1. Tatum led off with a single, then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Bailey. Norris Hopper drove an RBI-single through the right side of the infield to score Tatum.

With Bailey out of the game in the eighth, the Braves decided to put the heat on the Bats. Gwinnett pieced together five consecutive hits, scoring four times against relievers Adam Pettyjohn and Jeff Kennard, including a two-run home run by Major League rehabbing Greg Norton, cutting the deficit to 8-5.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Bats responded with two more home runs. The first was a solo shot off of the Bat of Darnell McDonald, his second of the game. With Drew Sutton on first base, Luis Bolivar decided to get in on the action, striking a 420-foot homer to left field, giving the game its' final score of 11-5.

With his home run in the eighth, McDonald became the third Bats player on the year to have a multi-home run game. He finished the game 3-for-5.

Concluding the eight-game home stretch, the Bats will continue action for eight games on the road. Tomorrow night Louisville will play in Charlotte against the Knights, who are the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. First pitch is set for 7:15. LHP Matt Maloney (4-3, 2.00) gets the nod for the Bats after making two starts for the Reds and he will face RHP Carlos Torres (5-4, 2.38). The Bats will come home on July 2nd, to host the Indianapolis Indians, the top farm club of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

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International League Stories from June 22, 2009


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