The Louisville Bats dropped both legs of Thursday's doubleheader against the Nashville Sounds, keeping things close in a 3-1 loss in the afternoon and dropping the second game in the evening, 9-6.
In game one, Edwin Arroyo crossed the first run for the Bats after scoring on a wild pitch from Coleman Crow (W, 4-1), taking a 1-0 lead in the first. Arroyo laced a single out to right field to lead off the inning, extending his hit streak to eight games.
Davis Daniel (L, 4-3) held the Sounds hitless through the first two innings, but gave up his first hit to the leadoff batter in the third. With the help of Louisville’s defense, Daniel held Nashville to that lone hit and kept the lead intact.
Daniel’s scoreless outing lost its steam in the fourth. After allowing two consecutive walks to begin the inning, Brock Wilken lined an RBI single to plate the first run for the Sounds. Daniel settled in after a mound visit, retiring three straight batters to keep things tied at 1-1.
Despite crossing a run in the first, the Bats' offense pumped the brakes through the fourth inning, not recording a single hit since Arroyo’s single. The Sounds took advantage in the fifth, plating another run off of Daniel on an RBI fielder’s choice that scored former Bat Jacob Hurtubise. Nashville left the frame with a 2-1 lead, and Daniel finished his outing after 5.0 innings, allowing two runs on three hits with one strikeout.
Ivan Johnson broke the hitting slump with a single in the fifth, but Louisville stranded two runners aboard to end the inning. Lyon Richardson retired three straight to begin the sixth, but the Bats went scoreless in the bottom half.
Caleb Ferguson made his first appearance as a Bat in the seventh, and quickly retired the first two batters, one out being a strikeout. However, he let up a triple to pinch-hitter Jordyn Adams, who then scored on an RBI single to give the Sounds a 3-1 lead heading into the last frame. Sounds closer Craig Yoho (SV, 1) retired three straight Bats to wrap up the first game of the doubleheader.
Game two kicked off with a Bats debut from left-hander Nate Peterson (L, 0-1), who tossed a scoreless first with a strikeout. Once again, Louisville got off to a hot start in its first frame. Arroyo singled to extend his hitting streak to a team-high nine games, and Noelvi Marte hit him home with an RBI single. Hector Rodriguez also reached home on a double play after following Arroyo with a single of his own.
The Bats loaded the bases on three straight walks with two outs, but Sounds starter Thomas Pannone struck out Dayne Leonard to keep the Bats' lead at 2-0. Peterson worked another scoreless second, despite allowing a walk. Louisville loaded the bases once again in the bottom frame, but a tough catch made from a Michael Toglia line drive with two outs ended the inning.
Nashville finally got the best of Peterson in the fourth. After Peterson allowed a walk with one out, Luis Matos flew his first home run of the year into left field to tie things up at 2-2 after the top half. However, the Bats got the lead right back with Edwin Arroyo, who smashed a solo home run from the left side to regain the Bats' lead at 3-2.
Things got dangerous for Peterson in the fifth after Nashville loaded the bases and walked a runner home with no outs. He was relieved for Anthony Misiewicz, who walked home another run to put the Sounds ahead, 4-3. After forcing a fly out, Misiewicz surrendered a two-RBI double to give Nashville a 6-3 lead after the frame. Peterson finished his debut in 4.0 innings and allowed six runs on three hits and five walks with two strikeouts.
Arroyo wouldn’t let the Bats go down easy. After Leonard and P.J. Higgins both walked, Arroyo lined a shot to right field that got past Luis Lara for a two-RBI triple. The Sounds got the next two outs swiftly, keeping their 6-5 lead.
Kyle Nicolas took the mound in the sixth and gave up a run after a walk and a single with two outs. After another single and a four-pitch walk to load the bases, he let up another walk to give Nashville an 8-5 lead. Yunior Marte replaced him after the walk and forced a ground out with one pitch to end the frame. Marte didn’t finish his outing scoreless, however, giving up a solo home run in the seventh and extending Nashville’s lead to 9-5.
Arroyo had the opportunity at the cycle in the seventh and had a chance, lining a ball out to left-center gap that fell for an RBI base hit. However, it was quickly cut off, and he was limited to a single. Rece Hinds came to the plate with a chance to tie the game, but struck out to secure a Nashville sweep of the doubleheader.
Arroyo totaled five hits combined between the two games and finished a double shy of the cycle in the second game. Richardson and Misiewicz tossed the lone scoreless outings for the Bats, while the offense left 26 runners on base through today’s games.
The Bats (21-15) continue their homestand and face off against the Nashville Sounds (19-17) on Friday evening. First pitch is set for 7:15 p.m. EST at Louisville Slugger Field. Nick Curran and Jim Kelch will be on the call for Talk Radio 1080-AM.