IL1 Louisville Bats

Perez' Late-Inning Heroics Highlight Season's Opening Chapter

Published on April 24, 2013 under International League (IL1)
Louisville Bats News Release


LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Although the Louisville Bats season is less than a month old, the team has already been a part of several down-to-the-wire finishes, including winning three games in walk-off fashion. In a pair of those last at-bat wins, the game winners have come from home runs off the bat of Felix Perez. The walk-off wins have highlighted the opening chapter of Louisville's 2013 season, and provided a glimpse of the type of timely hitting coming from the Cuban-born outfielder who has helped power the team to a 10-9 start.

Perez's first game winning blast came on Opening Night when he ripped a shot off the right-field foul pole to give the Bats a 4-3 victory at Louisville Slugger Field. Two weeks later, Perez provided an encore for the Louisville crowd, this time in extra innings. The Bats outfielder sent a 10th-inning pitch over the wall in right center to kick off a series against the Indianapolis Indians with a thrilling 5-4 win.

To go along with the late inning heroics, Perez is also putting together some very consistent hitting at all other points in the game. In 13 of his 17 games this year, Perez has put up at least one hit, and his .300 average leads the team. The night before his walk-off 10th-inning home run last week, the 28-year-old belted out four RBIs in an 8-3 pasting of Columbus. Perez' three-run home run that night was part of the team's 15-hit barrage and was one portion of a torrid four-game stretch where he hit at a .533 clip.

The pair of walk-off homers this month isn't the first game clinching homer of Perez' professional career. While with the Reds' Double-A club in Chattanooga in 2011, he delivered a game winner while a member of the Mudcats. Perez used that moment, and the rest of his success in Chattanooga, to earn his first Triple-A call-up late in the season, getting nine games of action with Louisville to close out the year.

Much like the start of 2013, where Perez has played in 17 of the Bats first 19 games, the outfielder was a mainstay for Louisville all of last season. One of just five players to remain on the Bats' roster for the entire year, Perez led the team in hits (118) while playing in 116 games, splitting time between both corner outfield spots. His 25 doubles were second most on the team, and his .301 average ranked sixth in the International League.

A native Cuban, Perez has spent his entire career in the Reds organization since being signed as a non-drafted free agent in May of 2010. After his solid campaign with the Bats last season, he played in the Venezuelan Winter League before getting to join the Reds in Spring Training.

The continued steady contributions from Perez for the second year in a row are imperative for Louisville if they hope to put together a formidable offensive lineup moving forward this season. If Perez wants to throw in any more clutch, late-inning hits, manager Jim Riggleman would appreciate that, as well.

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International League Stories from April 24, 2013


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