The Louisville Bats fell 8-5 at Werner Park Saturday night against the Omaha Storm Chasers. Late inning offense by Omaha proved to be the deciding factor, as big innings in the sixth and eighth propelled them to the victory.
Nick Lodolo earned the starting nod for the Bats in his first rehab outing with Louisville, while Ben Sears would man the bump for the Storm Chasers.
Edwin Arroyo wasted no time for Louisville, belting a leadoff homer on the very first pitch of the game. The lead would be short lived, however, as Omaha would get on the board in their half of the first, knotting the game up 1-1.
In the away half of the third inning, Arroyo and Hector Rodriguez would get on base to set up Michael Toglia for an RBI single to right field. The Bats would reclaim the lead 2-1, and Sears' day would come to a close there. He went 2.1 innings, giving up the two runs on four hits, while walking two batters.
Lodolo would find some trouble in the fourth inning with two on and nobody out. He would bear down from there, striking out three in a row to work out of the jam.
In the fifth, Noelvi Marte would then send a ball over the left field fence off Omaha’s Beck Way (W, 5-1), further widening the lead for Louisville 3-1. In the home half of the inning, Lodolo would exit after 4.1 innings of work. He would surrender five hits. However, he would strike six Storm Chasers out, while allowing two earned runs as he looks to return to Cincinnati.
Sam Benschoter (L, 2-1) would work first out of the bullpen, where he would fall into issues early, allowing Omaha to retake the lead 5-3 going into the sixth inning on an Abraham Toro two-run homer.
A Garrett Hampson single that squeaked through the right side would bring the Bats within one, as they would try to capitalize on the momentum heading into the stretch, trailing 5-4.
Omaha would blow the game open in the bottom of the eighth inning, scoring three more to add onto the deficit for Louisville, 8-4. They would then close it out in the ninth, ending the game in 1-2-3 fashion.
Although Omaha’s offense took over, the Bats had a good showing, with Michael Chavis going 3-for-3 at the plate, and Arroyo notching another multi hit game himself.
The Bats (19-13) conclude their series against Omaha (13-17) on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is set for 3:05 p.m. EST at Werner Park. Nick Curran will be on the call on Sports Talk 790.