Chavis' Walks off Omaha with Pinch-Hit Walk-Off Grand Slam
IL Louisville Bats

Chavis' Walks off Omaha with Pinch-Hit Walk-Off Grand Slam

Published on July 8, 2026 under International League (IL)
Louisville Bats News Release


Hector Rodriguez homered twice for the second straight game, rehabbing Reds infielder Ke'Bryan Hayes went 4-for-5, the Louisville Bats went back-to-back in back-to-back innings, and Michael Chavis ended it with a pinch-hit walk-off grand slam, giving the Bats a wild 12-8 win over Omaha on Wednesday night.

Louisville's offense wasted no time in the first inning, as Hayes crushed his first Bats home run 412 feet over the left field fence to open the scoring. Just one pitch later, Rodriguez laced a line drive that just cleared the fence, going back-to-back with Hayes to make it 2-0 Bats.

The Storm Chasers rallied for five runs in the second off Jose Franco to take the lead. But the 5-2 advantage wouldn't last long. With one out in the bottom half, Austin Hendrick's high fly ball to right cleared the fence for his sixth homer of the season. Garrett Hampson followed with a solo shot of his own to left, making it a one-run game at 5-4. This marks the first time since at least 2002 that the Bats have hit back-to-back home runs in back-to-back innings.

Following a scoreless top of the third, Hayes got Louisville going in the bottom half with a leadoff single. On an 0-2 pitch, Rodriguez connected on his second home run of the night, a 403-foot blast to right-center to put the Bats ahead 6-5.

Louisville added two more runs in the fifth, extending the lead to 8-5. But the defense let the Bats down late. Two errors led to two Omaha runs in the seventh and Garrett Hampson was unable to come up with a ground ball with two outs in the eighth, allowing the Storm Chasers to tie the score 8-8.

Hunter Parks was called on in the ninth and pitched a scoreless ninth. In the bottom half, the Bats loaded with one out and sent Chavis to the plate as a pinch-hitter. On an 0-2 pitch, he connected on an improbable pinch-hit walk-off grand slam, giving the Bats the wild victory, their second win in a row to start the series.

With his pair of homers for the second straight game, Rodriguez is now the fifth player in Louisville franchise history with consecutive multi-homer games after Kevin Barker (1999), Joey Votto (2007), Mike Hessman (2013), and Phillip Ervin (2019).

Next Game: Thursday, July 9, 6:35 p.m. E.T. vs. Omaha Storm Chasers (Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals)

Probable Pitchers: Bats RHP Jose Acuña (1-0, 1.50) vs. Storm Chasers LHP Ryan Ramsey (4-4, 5.45)

Promos: Thursday's game is Thrifty Thursday, with specially priced tickets along with select discounted items at concession stands.

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International League Stories from July 8, 2026


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