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Louisville got to break out the bubbly on
Saturday night.
There was Frank the Tank-like pandamonium on the streets of Louisville this weekend, as revelers celebrated the Louisville Bats' clinching of their second straight International League West division championship, and fourth crown since 2000. Louisville, who owns the league's best record at 78-56, claimed the division in the midst of a four-game series split with the Columbus Clippers, who are the top farm club of the Cleveland Indians. With just over a week left in the regular season, Louisville waits to see who its playoff date will be, as the Durham Bulls and Gwinnett Braves are still locked in a tight pennant race in the league's south division. Here's how the action went down at Slugger Field:
Thursday-Clippers 7, Bats 2: Columbus came into town swinging, reeling off 13 hits against Sam LeCure and two Bats' relievers. LeCure (9-7, 4.45) went six innings and gave six runs, but only four were earned, as 3B Juan Francisco had two costly errors. While the 22-year-old Francisco has been a beast at the dish his entire career (27 total homers this year alone), it remains to be seen whether he can overcome the shaky defense that has plagued him. Luis Bolivar, who has moved into the leadoff spot with Drew Stubbs' ascencion to Cincinnati, tied a franchise record with two triples in the game.
Friday-Bats 10, Clippers 4: Francisco atoned for his errors in Thursday's game by going 3-5 with two homers. In only 15 games with Louisville, Francisco already has five dingers and 17 RBIs to go with a .361 average. Louisville lit up the scoreboard early and often, as Chris Heisey homered in the first, followed by a Francisco RBI double and an RBI single by Chris Valaika. Valaika continued his August success with a four-hit night, as the shortstop prospect is now hitting .327 for the month. Heisey had two doubles and the first-inning homer, as the Bats pounded out 16 hits total. Making the start and his Louisville Bats debut was Tom Cochran, who had been playing with the Lancaster Barnstormers in the independent Atlantic League while rocking out his favorite tune, 'Life is a Highway.' Cochran didn't get out of the fourth, but Frederico Baez and Ramon Ramirez each went two-plus innings of scoreless relief to keep Louisville out in front.
Saturday-Clippers 5, Bats 3: Lost the game? Who cares, as the team got to break out the champagne anyway with Toledo's loss. Louisville couldn't shake an early 4-0 deficit, despite a ninth-inning rally that had the winning run at the plate. Lost in the champagne bath was the fact that reliever Jeff Kennard returned from a stint on the DL. Bats' starter Travis Wood (4-2, 3.30) was hit with just his second loss in seven starts.
Sunday-Bats 6, Clippers 3: Louisville played like division champs in this one, coming back from a 2-0 to score six unanswered runs, thanks to four hits each from Todd Frazier and Wes Bankston. The Bats were also helped by the return of Louisville legend Kevin Barker, who rejoined the team after recently helping the Reds reel of five straight wins. Barker was one of three Louisville players to get two hits at the dish, helping Ben Jukich (9-6, 4.23) get the win after throwing six-plus innings and giving up only two runs. Performances like this is why Jukich was recently tabbed the Reds' organization's Pitcher of the Month.
Louisville and Columbus will hook up for three more nights in the Buckeye State at the Clippers' brand new downtown ballpark.
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