Bats Defeated 5-4 in Columbus
Published on July 1, 2026 under International League (IL)
Louisville Bats News Release
In a back-and-forth affair, the Louisville Bats suffered a 5-4 loss to the Columbus Clippers in the second game of a six-game series on Wednesday night.
Louisville opened the scoring in the top of the third on an RBI double from Dominic Pitelli, but Juan Brito's RBI double in the bottom of the inning quickly erased the lead. Columbus took the lead for the first time on Petey Halpin's RBI double an inning later.
The Bats tied it in the fifth when PJ Higgins led off the inning with a double, his first extra-base hit of the season, and came home to score on Pitelli's RBI single to center. Louisville restored the lead in the sixth on Francisco Urbaez's sacrifice fly to score Carlos Jorge, who began the inning with a single.
Sam Benschoter held the lead in the sixth but the game unraveled in the seventh. Four straight Clippers hits followed by a fielder's choice scored three runs to make it 5-3 Columbus. The Bats got one back in the eighth on a bases-loaded walk from Higgins. But Garrett Hampson grounded out as the Clippers maintained the 5-4 lead.
Franco Aleman was called on for the save chance and converted it with a clean ninth, wrapping up the Clippers' second straight one-run win to start the series.
Next Game: Thursday, July 2, 7:05 p.m. E.T. at Columbus Clippers (Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians)
Probable Pitchers: Bats RHP Jose Franco (1-2, 3.72) vs. Clippers RHP Yorman Gomez (0-0, 2.25)
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