Bats Unable to Outslug I-Cubs, Fall 11-9
July 26, 2025 - International League (IL)
Louisville Bats News Release
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky - Although the Louisville Bats' offense was in full throttle, the Iowa Cubs proved to be even more lethal at the plate. Louisville's arms struggled to respond, surrendering a season-high 16 hits as Iowa outscored the Bats, 11-9 on Saturday night at Louisville Slugger Field.
After a low-stress first inning, Louisville starter Chase Petty (L, 2-8) ran into trouble as the I-Cubs ignited a two-out spark. With runners on the corners, Christian Franklin doubled down the third base line to clear the bases and give Iowa a 2-0 lead.
However, the Bats immediately evened the score in the bottom of the frame with two big swings. Rece Hinds kicked off the scoring with a moonshot far beyond the center field wall, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand followed suit with a blast of his own right after. This marked the seventh time this season that the Bats have hit back-to-back homers.
Although Petty returned to the mound for the third inning without a deficit, he couldn't find his groove. Back-to-back doubles to begin the frame plated an Iowa run, and two hitters later the I-Cubs brought one more home as Petty was called for a balk.
Petty's struggles ensued in the fourth, and Iowa continued putting crooked numbers on the board. Putting five I-Cubs on base en route to a four-run Iowa frame, Petty just couldn't find his best stuff. In four innings of work, Petty surrendered eight runs on nine hits, a season-high for him in both.
Still, Louisville managed to remain within arm's length by striking back in the bottom half. The Bats plated three runs in the fourth despite cracking just one base hit. I-Cubs starter Will Sanders (W, 6-0) struggled with his command, issuing a pair of free passes to begin the inning. Sal Stewart rocketed a double into the right field corner which scored Edwin Ríos, and Sanders' second wild pitch of the frame plated Hinds. A sacrifice fly by Will Banfield scored Stewart, shrinking the Bats' deficit to three, trailing 8-5.
Iowa's offense showed no signs of slowing down as it continued building on its lead with solo shots in the fifth and sixth off Evan Kravetz.
As the I-Cubs tacked on runs via the big fly, the Bats followed their lead. Héctor Rodríguez cranked a solo shot over the Humana Cabana in the fifth for his first career Triple-A homer and Stewart showcased his power in the following frame with a 436-foot two-run blast of his own. Thanks to Louisville's touted prospects, the Bats found themselves in a surmountable two-run hole down 10-8.
Sam Benschoter took over in the seventh and for the first time since the opening frame, Louisville finally put a zero on the board. In the bottom half, the Bats couldn't gain any ground, going down in order.
Iowa scored yet another run in the eight off Zach Maxwell to push its lead back out to three. But just earlier in the game, Louisville had an answer in the bottom half. Stewart came to the plate a triple shy of the cycle but instead blasted his second homer of the night onto the Louisville Slugger Field concourse to make it 11-9.
Although Buck Farmer tossed a clean ninth inning to keep the I-Cubs' lead at two, the Bats came up empty in the bottom half. While Louisville's offense was blazing for much of the game, Nate Pearson (S, 2) extinguished any flames in the ninth by sitting the Bats down in order to seal Iowa's win.
Stewart finished 4-for-4 with two home runs, four RBI, and three runs scored in his second career multi-home run game. As a team, the Bats hit a season-high five home runs in the loss.
The Bats (44-57, 12-14 second half) will wrap up their series with the I-Cubs (51-49, 12-14 second half) on Sunday afternoon looking for the series win. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. ET with Nick Curran and Jim Kelch on the call for Sports Talk 790.
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