Bats' Offense Falters in 7-3 Loss
IL Louisville Bats

Bats' Offense Falters in 7-3 Loss

Published on August 1, 2025 under International League (IL)
Louisville Bats News Release


OMAHA, Nebraska - On "Salute to Agriculture Night" at Werner Park, the Louisville Bats fell 7-3 to the Omaha Storm Chasers, who donned their special "corn-themed" jerseys.

Blake Dunn got the Bats rolling out of the gate with a leadoff single, followed by a fielder's choice that allowed Héctor Rodríguez to reach safely. Rodríguez came around to score on an RBI double by Sal Stewart, giving the Bats a 1-0 lead. After Christian Encarnacion-Strand drew a walk and Ryan Vilade was hit by a pitch to load the bases, the rally stalled with a groundout at third to end the inning.

Louisville starter Jose Franco (L, 2-2) came out dealing, retiring the side in order on just 10 pitches to set the tone early.

The Storm Chasers answered in the bottom of the second, starting with a single and followed by a home run from Tyler Gentry, giving Omaha a 2-1 lead. Franco retired the next two batters with a routine flyout and a swinging strikeout to limit the damage.

After scoring one run in the first, the Bats went quiet against Omaha's starter Ethan Bosacker, only securing one hit in innings two and three.

A pitching change for Omaha in the fourth sparked some hope in the Bats offense. Louisville got two on base early against righty Ben Sears (W, 1-1), a hit by pitch - Vilade's second of the night - and single to right. However, the spark quickly died as Louisville failed to bring one home, the next three batters being retired in order.

Conversely, a pitching change for Louisville led to more trouble. Bats reliever Hunter Parks surrendered a leadoff home run to Harold Castro, giving the Storm Chasers some cushion 3-1. Parks proceed to sit the next three batters down to keep the deficit at two.

The Storm Chasers tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth against lefty Reiver Sanmartin. With runners in the corners, a single to center scored one, and a throwing error on a failed double play allowed another runner to advance to home.

The Bats couldn't find their offense against Sears, who continued to pitch two more scoreless innings before being relieved by Brandon Johnson in the top of the seventh.

Lenny Torres Jr. entered the game in the bottom of the seventh and surrendered a leadoff homerun, this time to Rudy Martin. Torres Jr. issued a walk to Dairon Blanco who stole second and advanced to third on a balk. A wild pitch allowed Blanco to score, extending the lead 7-1.

The eighth inning looked like another scoreless inning for Louisville with two outs and no one on. However, the momentum shifted when Encarnacion-Strand drew a two-out walk. Vilade made it count, following with a home run to left field, reducing the deficit to four.

While Zach Maxwell threw a clean eighth inning, the Bats' four-run deficit was too much to surmount.

The Bats tried to make it interesting, securing a pair of two-out base hits and drawing a walk to bring Edwin Ríos at the plate as the game-tying run. However, a swinging strike after eight pitches secured their fate.

Vilade went 1-2 with one home run and one RBI. The pitching ensemble totaled eight strikeouts, Franco leading with three.

The Bats (46-60, 14-17 second half) will continue the series against Storm Chasers (41-64, 10-21 second half) on Saturday night at Werner Park. First pitch will be at 7:05 p.m. with Nick Curran on the call on Sports Talk 790.

Check out the Louisville Bats Statistics

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



International League Stories from August 1, 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