Solo Homers Not Enough as Bats Fall to Storm Chasers
IL Louisville Bats

Solo Homers Not Enough as Bats Fall to Storm Chasers

July 29, 2025 - International League (IL)
Louisville Bats News Release


OMAHA, Nebraska - The Louisville Bats dropped game one with the Omaha Storm Chasers 5-2 on Tuesday night. The Bats' offense went down quietly and could only muster three hits for the game, all coming from either Sal Stewart or Edwin Rios.

In the top of the opening inning, Rios added to his dominant season. Coming into the game, he was second in RBI with 70 and tied for second in home runs in the International League with 20. He increased those numbers with a 400-foot solo home run to left field.

Hunter Greene (L, 0-1), a 2024 National League All-Star and the Cincinnati Reds' Opening Day starter, got the start in his first game with the Bats on a rehab assignment. The second pitch he threw was crushed for a solo home run by Michael Massey to tie the score at one. Greene responded with three straight looking strikeouts, with two batters getting sat down on 100 mile per hour fastballs.

In the second inning, Greene gave up another home run to the leadoff batter. This time, Harold Castro was the culprit. He grabbed two more strikeouts in the inning, giving him five after two frames. Greene finished the game with six total strikeouts but left the game in the third inning with runners on the corners. Sam Benschoter came on in relief, but he gave up RBI singles to Luca Tresh and Isan Diaz. Joey Wiemer scored another run with a fielder's choice, and the Storm Chasers took a 5-1 lead.

The Louisville offense struggled against Omaha starter John Gant (W, 2-3). Gant finished with six strikeouts and only allowed two hits through five innings. Besides the Rios home run, the second hit came off a home run ball from Stewart.

Stewart, the second-ranked prospect in the Reds organization, has been hot since joining the Bats. The home run off Gant in the fifth was his fourth homer and seventh RBI through 10 games in Triple-A. He doubled later in the game, giving him two of Louisville's three hits. The two hits by Stewart and the Rios home run were the only Bats hits through seven innings.

Benschoter threw two scoreless innings before Reiver Sanmartin came in to start the sixth frame. He also tossed a scoreless frame, then collected two outs in the seventh when Zach Maxwell came to the mound to finish the inning and stayed in to finish the game.

For Omaha, Daniel Lynch IV and Michel Fulmer threw three scoreless innings before Joey Krehbiel (S, 2) came in to finish the game for the save with a scoreless ninth.

Stewart finished the game 2-for-4 with a home run, and Rios went 1-for-3 with a walk and a home run.

The Bats (45-58, 13-15 second half) will meet the Storm Chasers (39-63, 8-20 second half) for game two on Wednesday afternoon. First pitch will be at 1:05 p.m. with Nick Curran on the call on Sports Talk 790.

Check out the Louisville Bats Statistics



International League Stories from July 29, 2025


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