Bats Hold off Saints to Secure First Win of Series
June 26, 2025 - International League (IL)
Louisville Bats News Release
ST. PAUL, Minnesota - With dark clouds on the horizon, the Louisville Bats beat the weather and the Saints, securing their first win in their six-game series in St. Paul.
The Bats threatened early against Saints starter Trent Baker as Bryson Brigman singled and Francisco Urbaez followed with a double to put two on with no out. Despite this early momentum, the Bats were unable to capitalize as the Saints defense secured three quick outs to end the inning unscathed.
The Saints responded with outfielder Austin Martin hitting a solo home run against starter Chase Petty to take an early 1-0 lead.
Louisville quickly answered with a solo home run from P.J. Higgins, overturned from a double after official review. They took a 2-1 lead later in the inning with Urbaez delivering an RBI double, scoring Blake Dunn.
Petty found his groove after giving up the solo homer in the first, striking out two of the four batters he faced in the second.
The third inning went by quietly as both teams failed to record a hit. The pattern followed the Bats into the fourth, going 1-2-3 for the second consecutive inning. In contrast, the Saints shook off the slow third frame, scoring Ryan Fitzgerald off of Aaron Sabato's RBI double to tie the game 2-2.
Petty was relieved by lefty Reiver Sanmartin (W, 3-2) in the middle of the fifth after securing two outs. He ended the night with 4.2 innings pitched with 4 total strikeouts. Sanmartin closed out the inning with a strikeout.
Louisville ended their hitting drought on a single by Jack Rogers in the top of the sixth. Ivan Johnson found himself on base with another single and momentum seemed to be turning. However, St. Paul's defense stood tall, retiring Higgins on an infield fly and turning a double play on an Eric Yang grounder, keeping the Bats off the board for a fourth consecutive inning. The Bats got payback in the bottom of the frame, turning a double play of their own to prevent the Saints from scoring.
With two outs in the top of the seventh, Edwin Ríos singled in center field, scoring Brigman to take the lead, 3-2.
Sam Moll took the mound in the bottom of the seventh. The Bats recorded another double play before Moll recorded a crucial strikeout out against St. Paul's leadoff hitter Edouard Julien to maintain the lead.
As a light rain began to fall in the top of the eighth, the Bats found themselves with runners in the corners and only one out. However, Saints reliever Travis Adams (L, 3-2) responded under pressure, striking out back-to-back batters to preserve the score.
In the ninth, The Bats tacked on an insurance run off of Levi Jordan's RBI single, scoring Urbaez.
Luis Mey (S, 4) took the mound in the bottom of the ninth looking to secure the win, and he did just that. Mey struck out the last two batters with a runner in scoring position, including Saints pinch hitter Yunior Severino.
The Bats ended the night with two infield double plays and three two-out RBIs. The pitching ensemble totaled 10 strikeouts.
The Bats (33-44) will continue their series with the Saints (34-41) with game three on Friday night at CHS Field. First pitch is set for 8:07 p.m. ET with Nick Curran on the call for Sports Talk 790.
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