IL1 Indianapolis Indians

Walker drives in four, leads tribe to win

Published on April 23, 2010 under International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


INDIANAPOLIS -- Second baseman Neil Walker had two hits and drove in four runs, while right-handed pitcher Kevin Hart struck out five batters and allowed one run in five innings to propel the Indianapolis Indians to a 6-1 win over the Louisville Bats on Friday night at Victory Field.

The win improves the Indians record to 6-10, while the loss drops the Bats mark to 8-8. The victory ties the season series at two games apiece.

With the Indians ahead 2-0 in the home half of the third inning, Walker stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and promptly lined the first pitch of the at-bat down the right field line to drive in all three base runners. LF Jose Tabata led off the frame with a single, moved to second on a single by CF Jonathan Van Every and, after Tabata was picked off at second, 3B Pedro Alvarez reached on an error and 1B Steve Pearce walked to set the stage for Walker.

The Tribe gained the early two-run advantage on a two-run home by C Erik Kratz. With one out and RF Brandon Moss standing at first after a single, the Indians' backstop blasted a line drive to left field for his second longball of the season.

Walker and the Indians tacked on an additional run in the home half of the fifth to take the decisive 7-1 lead, after the second baseman singled home Alvarez, who had doubled to lead off the inning.

The Bats scored their lone run of the contest on back-to-back two out doubles by 3B Drew Sutton and CF Chris Heisey in the fifth inning.

The Indianapolis offense was a paced by four different players who recorded multiple hits, with Walker (2-for-4, 1 2B, 4 RBI), Tabata (3-for-5), Kratz (1-for-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI), Van Every (2-for-5, 1 R) and Moss (2-for-4, 1 R) accounting for most of the damage for the Tribe, while Louisville had three batters - Sutton (2-for-5, 1 2B, 1 R), LF Juan Francisco (2-for-4, 1 2B) and 2B Chris Valaika (2-for-4) - tally multiple hits.

Indians' RHP Hart (5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 SO) pitched five strong innings, allowing five hits and one run to earn the victory and improve to 1-0 on the year, while reliever Steven Jackson (3.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 6 SO) turned in a dominating effort out of the Tribe bullpen with three scoreless innings during which time he struck out six Louisville batters. Bats' starter Justin Lehr (4.1 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO) allowed five runs and nine hits in 4.1 innings of work and was strapped with the loss to drop to 0-3 on the season.

The Indians conclude their three-game home series against the Louisville Bats on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. RHP Sam LeCure is scheduled to start for Louisville, while RHP Brad Lincoln is expected to get the nod for Indianapolis.

The contest will be carried by WXLW-950 AM and broadcast live on Comcast and Bright House Networks digital channel 81 with Howard Kellman and Scott McCauley on the call. The pre-game show on WXLW-950 AM begins at 6:40 p.m.

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International League Stories from April 23, 2010


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