Trautwein Powers Bats to Win with Walk-Off Homer
March 30, 2024 - International League (IL)
Louisville Bats News Release
With the score tied with two outs in the bottom of the ninth in the bottom of the ninth, Bats catcher Michael Trautwein connected on a walk-off solo blast deep over the right field fence, sending the fans at Louisville Slugger Field into a frenzy with a 4-3 win. The hit was Trautwein's first at the Triple-A level in his seventh at-bat. The walk-off win is the first for the Bats this season after they won 11 times with their last swing in 2023.
The win improves the Bats to 2-0 for the first time since April 5, 2014, when they began the season with back-to-back wins at Toledo. Louisville will now look for a series sweep on Sunday afternoon.
The game began as a pitching showdown between two of the best prospects in baseball. Making his Triple-A debut for Indianapolis, 2023 first overall draft pick Paul Skenes (Pirates No. 1 overall prospect per MLB.com) shut the Bats down for three perfect innings, striking out five to keep the game scoreless.
Bats righty Lyon Richardson (Reds No. 14 prospect per MLB.com) wasn't perfect but was equally as effective. He kept the Indians off the board for five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out four in his season debut.
After homering in his Triple-A debut on Friday night, Rece Hinds brought the power again on Saturday with a towering 405-foot three-run home run to left in the bottom of the fifth against Indians reliever Eric Lauer to open the scoring. The back-to-back games with a home run are nothing new for Hinds, who homered in six straight games from June 11-17, 2023 with Double-A Chattanooga.
Making his Bats debut, Stevie Branche held the lead with a clean top of the sixth. But the Bats bullpen blew a save for the first time in the seventh, with Indianapolis scoring three times to even the score. Brooks Kriske kept the score even with a scoreless eighth and ninth to earn his first win of the year.
The win marks the second straight for the Bats when being outhit. On Opening Night on Friday, Louisville scored nine runs on eight hits and produced four runs on four hits on Saturday. The Indians have combined for 21 hits over the first two games of the year.
Next Home Game: Sunday, March 31, 2024 at 1:05 pm E.T. (vs. Indianapolis Indians, Triple-A Affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates)
Promos: Kids Day ($8 kid's admission for outfield seats in advance of the game , presented by Kentucky Kingdom)
Post-game Kids Run The Bases
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