For a moment, it looked as if the Louisville Bats were on their way to a tenth straight victory Wednesday afternoon. After a three run top of the third, the Bats were sitting pretty with a 3-1 lead. Then, the Buffalo Bisons struck.
The Bisons scored eight unanswered runs between the third and sixth innings to pull away from the Bats en route to a 9-4 victory. The Bats saw their nine game winning streak come to an end while the Bisons ended a seven game losing streak.
The Bats took a 2-1 lead on a two-run double from Joey Gathright in the third. Gathright would come around to score on a single by Dioner Navarro to make it 3-1.
It was all Bisons after that. An RBI triple from Jordany Valdespin and RBI single from Josh Satin tied the game at three after three.
Rob Johnson’s solo home run in the fourth gave the Bisons a 4-3 lead. Valentino Pascucci doubled home the eventual game winning run in the fifth. The Bisons later scored another run in the fifth on a botched double play attempt by the Bats, extending the lead to 6-3.
The Bisons blew the game open in the sixth on a three RBI double by Pascucci, who finished the game with three doubles and five RBIs.
An RBI double from Danny Dorn closed the gap to 9-4 in the eighth, but that’s as close as the Bats could get.
Bats starter Pedro Villarreal (2-5) lost his fifth straight decision after starting the season 2-0.
Cody Puckett saw his nine game hitting streak come to an end while Gathright, Navarro, and Dorn each had multi-hit games.
The Bats and Bisons continue their four game series Thursday. The Bats (31-50) send Sean Gallagher (6-4, 5.11 ERA) while the Bisons (39-41) will counter with Collin McHugh (0-2, 8.10 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05.
Photo Credit: Max Sharp
