Bats Ninth-Inning Heroics Complete 6-5 Comeback Win
IL Louisville Bats

Bats Ninth-Inning Heroics Complete 6-5 Comeback Win

Published on September 3, 2025 under International League (IL)
Louisville Bats News Release


LOUISVILLE, Kentucky - Although the Louisville Bats struggled to ignite their offense for the majority of Wednesday's action against the St. Paul Saints, they didn't go down easy. With their backs against the wall, the Bats clawed back in the ninth, tying the game to send it to extras. Levi Jordan came through, walking it off for Louisville. With the 6-5 victory, the Bats extended their win streak to five, the longest of the season, and are now winners of nine of their last ten.

Sam Benschoter took the mound for the Bats to begin play, and St. Paul pounced right away. After a one-out single, Walker Jenkins ripped an RBI double into the right-center gap, getting the Saints on the board.

Louisville immediately responded in the bottom half, doing so via the long ball. Beginning his rehab assignment, Tyler Stephenson slotted into the Bats lineup for the first time since April 30th and began his stint in Louisville with a bang. With a 428-foot two-run bomb to straightaway center, Stephenson put the Bats ahead, 2-1.

That lead didn't last long, as Jonah Bride led off the second inning for St. Paul and erased Louisville's advantage with one swing of the bat. Sending a no-doubter over the left field wall, the Saints knotted the game at two apiece.

After trading runs in the first two innings, both offenses cooled off. Benschoter, who took the mound as the opener for T.J. Sikkema, exited after two innings of work. Sikkema kept St. Paul at arm's length for three innings, but in the sixth the Saints finally broke through. Aaron Sabato launched a bullet 435 feet over the center field wall, breaking the stalemate to put the Saints up 4-2.

The Bats, on the other hand, couldn't find any spark outside of Stephenson's first-inning blast. While Louisville put runners on base in the third, fourth and sixth innings, it couldn't capitalize. As the Bats remained stuck in the mud, St. Paul padded its lead in the eighth inning. Hitting his second home run of the day, Sabato added some insurance to the Saints' lead with a solo shot to left off of Joel Valdez. Buck Farmer (W, 2-0) took over for the ninth and tossed a 1-2-3 inning.

While the Bats looked lifeless much of Wednesday's action, racking up just four hits in the first eight innings of play, Louisville's offense resurrected when it mattered most. Down to their final three outs, the Bats clawed back with clutch extra-base hits.

Connor Joe and P.J. Higgins hit back-to-back doubles to kick off the frame, shrinking Louisville's deficit to two runs. Two hitters later, Rece Hinds erased that deficit altogether, coming through when the Bats needed it most. Hammering a two-run homer to left-center, Hinds' heroics evened the game at five.

Farmer returned for the 10th and quickly got two outs. However, with a walk and catcher's interference, St. Paul loaded the bases. Despite the threat, Farmer worked out of danger to keep the stalemate.

Jack Rogers laid down a textbook bunt to begin Louisville's half of the 10th, advancing ghost runner Davis Wendzel to third. Levi Jordan completed the comeback for the Bats, lacing a single off of Trent Baker (L, 2-3) into center, to give Louisville a 6-5 walk off win.

The Bats (62-72, 30-29 second half) continue their six-game series against the St. Paul Saints (58-74, 25-34 second half) on Thursday evening, looking for their sixth-straight win. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. ET with Nick Curran and Jim Kelch on the call for Sports Talk 790.

Check out the Louisville Bats Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



International League Stories from September 3, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central