Bats Blast off in 11-6 Victory over Clippers
IL Louisville Bats

Bats Blast off in 11-6 Victory over Clippers

July 8, 2025 - International League (IL)
Louisville Bats News Release


COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Louisville Bats used a power surge to their advantage and got timely hitting when they needed it all night long, winning a high-scoring affair 11-6 over the Columbus Clippers in the opener of a six-game series at Huntington Park on Tuesday night.

Facing Columbus starter Aaron Davenport, the Bats made two quick outs in the top of the first before breaking through. Edwin Rios delivered the first hit of the night with a double into the right field corner. In his first at-bat since being optioned to Louisville a day earlier, Rece Hinds drove in the game's first run with a single on a soft line drive to center.

Staked to a lead from his first pitch, rehabbing Cincinnati Reds righty Carson Spiers shut the Clippers down in the opening inning, working around a two-out walk in his first action at the Triple-A level since April. He set the Clippers down in order in the second, giving the Bats a chance to add on.

In the third, fellow rehabbing Red Jake Fraley got the inning started with a single up the middle. Davis Wendzel doubled down the left field line to put two in scoring position. Two hitters later, Hinds grounded out to first, allowing Fraley to come home and score. Ryan Vilade capped the inning's scoring with an opposite field double off the right field fence, giving the Bats a 3-0 lead.

The Clippers got on the board in the bottom of the third with back-to-back doubles against Spiers. The next inning, Columbus got all the way back, with an RBI double from Yordys Valdes and an RBI single from Milan Tolentino knocking Spiers out of the game before completing the inning. Sam Benschoter was called on to get the final out of the fourth and did just that, inducing a fly out from Petey Halpin to strand the go-ahead run on base.

In his first rehab outing with the Bats, Spiers allowed three runs on four hits with two walks and one strikeout over 3.2 innings. He didn't factor in the final decision.

Leading off the fifth, Rios put the Bats right back in front with his team-leading 18th home run of the season, a 399-foot blast to left-center off Davenport (L, 2-2). Benschoter made that lead stand with a quick bottom of the inning.

In the sixth, Columbus turned to reliever Trevor Stephan. The righty was rudely greeted by Levi Jordan, who crushed the second pitch he saw over the left-center field fence for his seventh home run of the season to increase the Louisville advantage to 5-3.

Louisville's attack continued as P.J. Higgins doubled to left, Blake Dunn was hit by a pitch, and pinch-hitter Bryson Brigman reached on a bunt single to load the bases with nobody out. Davis Wendzel then broke the game open by launching a grand slam over the left field fence, his eighth home run of the season, making the score 9-3 Bats. The grand slam was the Bats' fifth of the 2025 season.

Benschoter (W, 5-2) ended his strong relief outing with a scoreless sixth. He pitched 2.1 clean innings to earn the victory, his team-leading fifth victory of the season.

The Clippers cut their 9-3 deficit in half against Reiver Sanmartin in the seventh, plating three runs before the Bats southpaw induced a ground out from Valdes with the tying run at the plate.

Louisville was able to extend the lead again in the eighth, as Wendzel got the inning started with a walk. Hinds then unloaded on a first-pitch slider from reliever Jack Leftwich, hitting a 407-foot shot over the left field wall for his 12th home run of the season and a 11-6 lead.

Joe La Sorsa worked around a pair of baserunners in a scoreless eighth and Yosver Zulueta finished the win on the mound for the Bats.

Nine of the 10 Bats to record an at-bat in the game recorded at least one hit. Wendzel's grand slam was the biggest hit of the game, as he went 2-for-4 with a double, home run, three runs, and four RBI. Hinds also homered and drove in four runs, going 2-for-5. Rios posted three hits in the victory while Vilade, Jordan, and Higgins all recorded a multi-hit game. As a team, the Bats recorded a season-high nine extra-base hits in the win.

The Bats (38-50, 6-7 second half) and Clippers (40-45, 6-7 second half) meet again on Wednesday night at Huntington Park. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET. Nick Curran will be on the call for Sports Talk 790.

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International League Stories from July 8, 2025


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