Bats Rally for Thrilling Opening Night Win
March 29, 2024 - International League (IL)
Louisville Bats News Release
Louisville began the season in fine form, rallying to erase a four-run deficit for a 9-8 win over Indianapolis in front of an energetic crowd of 9,299 on Friday night at Louisville Slugger Field.
The Bats began the season with a victory for the first time in nearly a decade. The win marks the first time the Bats earned an Opening Night victory since April 4, 2014 at Toledo, snapping a season-opening eight-game losing streak. Overall, Louisville is now 17-21 overall on Opening Night. The nine runs were the most runs scored by Louisville on Opening Nights since April 6, 2000, when they fell 12-10 at Norfolk.
Making their Triple-A debuts, the trio Rece Hinds, Blake Dunn, and Quincy McAfee made their presence know. Each recorded at least one hit and one RBI to help power the offense back into the game.
In his first career Opening Night start, Carson Spiers started strong but struggled in his second turn through the lineup. He finished the game with five earned runs against over four innings, walking one and striking out three in a no-decision.
Trailing 7-4 in the bottom of the sixth, Louisville stormed ahead with a five-run rally. Hines got it started with a solo home run. Jacob Hurtubise tied the game with a two-run single and P.J. Higgins later added a two-run single of his own to put the Bats ahead for good.
Pitching with the lead, the Louisville bullpen was strong. Justin Bruihl pitched a scoreless seventh and Alan Busenitz did the same in the eighth. Tony Santillan allowed a run in the ninth but rebounded to pick up his first save of the year. Rehabbing Reds southpaw Sam Moll earned the win in his first game with the Bats.
All nine Louisville starters reached with either a hit or a walk. Seven of the nine recorded a hit, with Urbaez the only Bat to record a multi-hit game in a 2-for-3 performance.
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