LOUISVILLE, KY. – A late rally by the Omaha Storm Chasers fell just short in a 6-4 loss against the Louisville Bats Friday at Louisville Slugger Field.
After three scoreless frames from both teams to open the game, the Bats started the scoring in the bottom of the fourth inning as a pair of singles off starting pitcher Chandler Champlain plated a run a 1-0 lead.
Champlain allowed just the one over 4.0 innings and struck out a pair, but was charged with his ninth loss of the year as Louisville led the rest of the night. Austin Cox entered the game in the bottom of the fifth inning and allowed a two-out solo homer to double the deficit to 2-0 in favor of the Bats.
In the top of the sixth inning, the Chasers finally worked onto the board and cut the deficit to 2-1 as Drew Waters hit a lead-off single, stole second, moved to third on a groundout and scored on an RBI single from Nick Pratto.
Louisville answered back with four more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, plating one run charged to Cox and three against Noah Murdock with four hits and two walks that grew the lead to 6-1.
Omaha inched closer into the Bats’ lead in the top of the seventh, as Ryan Fitzgerald led off the frame with a walk and Devin Mann singled, then John Rave reached on a fielding error that plated Fitzgerald. Waters followed with a two-run double that plated Mann and Rave to cut the score to 6-4 in favor of Louisville.
After Murdock finished the sixth inning, Anthony Simonelli took the mound and worked a 1-2-3 seventh inning, the only time Louisville was retired in order.
Evan Sisk followed Simonelli and worked around a single in the eighth for a scoreless frame to keep the deficit at two runs.
After Omaha brought the potential tying run to the plate in the seventh, a triple from Fitzgerald and walk to Mann brought the potential go-ahead run to the plate in the top of the eighth, but the Storm Chasers were unable to add more insurance.
The Chasers had one last chance in the top of the ninth inning as Rave opened the frame with a single but the next three were retired to end the game in favor of Louisville. Omaha stranded nine runners on in the game and went 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position, in the team’s second straight loss.
The Storm Chasers continue this week’s series against the Bats Saturday September 21 as first pitch is slated to start at 6:15 p.m. CT and right-handed pitcher Luinder Avila takes the mound for Omaha in his Triple-A debut.
