Bats Secure Series Victory Over Iowa with 8-4 Win

Just like the scorching July heat, the Louisville Bats brought the fire on offense to secure the series win against the Iowa Cubs in an 8-4 Sunday afternoon victory.

The I-Cubs struck first, loading the bases after Bats starter Jose Franco walked three of the first four he faced. With only one out in the inning, an RBI groundout by Ben Cowles gave Iowa the lead, 1-0.

The Bats answered in full force, scoring 4 runs in the bottom of the frame against I-Cubs starter Spencer Turnbull (L, 0-4), making his Iowa debut. Blake Dunn kick-started the inning with a single to right field. Francisco Urbaez brought home Dunn with an RBI double and Edwin Ríos scored Urbaez on an RBI single. Christian Encarnacion-Strand capped off the inning with a two-run homer to left-center field, giving the Bats some cushion to their lead.

The scoring continued in the next inning as lead-off man P.J. Higgins knocked a solo homer to left field. After two of the next three batters reached base, Urbaez brought home Trey Faltine with another RBI double. However, the Bats couldn’t capitalize with only one out and the bases loaded as Turnbull struck out the next two batters, keeping the score at 6-1.

After going Iowa went scoreless in the second inning, I-Cubs leadoff hitter Greg Allen homered to right field. Franco tightened up the rest of the inning, striking out two of the next three batters he faced. Franco was later relieved by Reiver Sanmartin in the fourth, ending his day with a total of seven strikeouts.

The Bats extended their lead 8-2 in the bottom of the fourth after failing to score in the third. With two outs and the bases loaded, Higgins drove it to left field, scoring Rece Hinds and Levi Jordan, who came in to pinch run for the injured Urbaez.

Yosver Zulueta (W, 2-1) relieved Sanmartin in the fifth, finishing his day with two strikeouts.

The Bats offense cooled off after the fourth. As a whole, innings five through eight passed by unremarkably. Both teams put up zeros on the scoreboard and turned the game into a pitch-by-pitch slog. Joe La Sorsa and Connor Phillips helped keep the I-Cubs at bay in innings seven and eight respectively.

Iowa tried to make it interesting in the top of the ninth against reliever Lenny Torres Jr. A single and fielder’s choice allowed Moises Ballesteros to score bring in a run on an RBI single. Right after, Christian Franklin doubled, scoring another run to make it 8-4. Torres Jr. got the final out by striking out Cowles to secure the series win.

Higgins finished 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI. Before being pinch ran for in the fourth, Urbaez went 3-for-3 with two RBI doubles. Every man in the Louisville lineup reached base. The pitching ensemble totaled 13 strikeouts, one shy of a season high.

The Bats (45-57, 13-14 second half) will begin a six-game series in Omaha against the Storm Chasers (38-62, 7-19 second half) on Tuesday, July 29th at Werner Park. First pitch is set for 8:05 p.m. ET with Nick Curran on the call for Sports Talk 790.