Benson, Bats Walks off Cubs in 1-0 Pitchers' Duel
April 23, 2025 - International League (IL)
Louisville Bats News Release
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky - For over 10 innings, the scoreboard remained blank, 0-0, as neither the Louisville Bats nor the Iowa Cubs managed to plate any runs. That held true until Will Benson stepped to the plate. Benson made it clear: if there's a will, there's a way. Benson laced a single to center field, scoring Tyler Callihan from second. Thanks to Benson's walk-off single, the Bats won, 1-0.
Five days ago, in Louisville's 13-2 blowout-loss, the Columbus Clippers tallied seven runs with Chase Petty on the mound. Looking to bounce back, Petty came out dealing on Wednesday.
Despite Petty shutting down Iowa, Louisville couldn't give him any support. After a slugfest marked by eight runs less than 24 hours earlier, the Bats were sluggish in today's contest. Although Louisville put a runner on base in each of the first three innings, all three were left stranded.
That is largely due to who the Cubs had on the bump: Cade Horton. Coming in with a 1.46 ERA and just two earned runs to his name, Horton yet again overpowered hitters and kept the Bats at bay.
After 4.2 quality scoreless innings from Horton, Iowa called on its bullpen. Immediately, Louisville tried to pounce with Horton out of the game, knocking a two-out single from Bryson Brigman followed by a walk from Jacob Hurtubise. But to no avail, the Bats couldn't get on the board.
The pitcher's duel ensued as Petty continued carving up the Cubs. After putting on a clinic for six innings, surrendering just one hit and fanning seven, Petty's day came to an end.
With both stellar starters out, it now came down to a battle of the bullpens. Just like Petty and Horton, both bullpens maintained the control.
In the bottom of the eighth, Louisville made a push. As hits remained elusive, Hurtubise used his legs to threaten. Hurtubise swiped both second and third to put the go-ahead run 90 feet away. However, the aggressive baserunning wasn't enough to manufacture a Bats run. Neither P.J. Higgins nor Will Benson made any contact, striking out and allowing Jack Neely to get out of the inning unscathed.
The Bats' bullpen remained steadfast in the ninth, working around a one-out error to keep Iowa off the board. In the bottom of the frame, Neely returned as the Bats hoped to walk it off. But going three up, three down, the only place Louisville walked was back to the dugout.
In the 10th inning, neither team cashed in on the automatic runner on second base. The Bats came close, with a walk and hit by pitch loading the bases, but Higgins grounded out, leaving Louisville emptyhanded.
Lyon Richardson (W, 4-0) continued in the 11th, and escaped despite a one-out single. Matt Shaw hit into a double play to end the frame and keep the game knotted at zero.
Benson led off for the Bats, facing Frankie Scalzo (L, 0-1) in the bottom of the 11th, and he called game. Slicing a single into center field, Benson fueled Louisville to a walk-off 1-0 win.
The Bats (13-10) will look to keep their momentum going on Thursday for game three of their six-game series against the Cubs (11-9). First pitch will be at 6:35 p.m. ET and Nick Curran and Jim Kelch will be on the call for Sports Talk 790.
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