Bats rally late, top Cubs 5-4 in 11 innings

Louisville needed more than one big swing to shake off a slow night, and that is exactly why the Bats left Principal Park with a win that can change the feel of a road trip. Down early, quiet for much of the evening and staring at another tight game against Iowa, Louisville strung together enough pressure to steal a 5-4 victory in 11 innings on April 24, a result that pushed the Bats to 15-10 and dropped the Cubs to 12-12.

Brandon Leibrandt gave Louisville the chance to stay close. The left-hander worked six innings, allowed two runs on six hits, walked none and struck out five in his longest outing of the season. Iowa opened the scoring on Eric Yang’s RBI single and added another run in the sixth on Kevin Alcantara’s RBI single. Before the Bats’ late surge, Leibrandt had done enough to keep the game within reach, even as Iowa starter Trent Thornton, activated from the injured list before the game, made his first start for the Cubs.

The comeback began in the ninth, when Noelvi Marte doubled and Ivan Johnson followed with a double of his own to cut the deficit to 3-2. Michael Chavis then ripped another double into the left-field corner, giving Louisville three straight doubles and tying the game 3-3. Johnson, a 27-year-old infielder-outfielder and former Cincinnati fourth-round pick, ended up shaping the game at both ends. Pat Kelly moved him into the infield as a fifth infielder in the 10th, and Johnson helped start an unusual 7-2-3 double play that kept Louisville alive after Iowa loaded the bases with one out.

Louisville grabbed its first lead in the 10th when Edwin Arroyo singled home Francisco Urbaez, but Iowa answered immediately. Jonathon Long, who finished with four hits, tied it with his fourth hit of the night, and the Cubs later turned to position player Casey Opitz on the mound after exhausting their pitchers. In the 11th, Chavis delivered again with the go-ahead RBI single, and Andrew Chafin closed it out for his first save with Louisville after Johnson helped nail down the final out at the plate. The win, coming in the fourth game of a six-game series and one night after Louisville had been shut out 1-0, showed how this roster can survive quiet stretches and still find offense from Marte, Johnson, Chavis and Arroyo when the leverage climbs.