Omaha capitalizes on Louisville's misses in 7-2 finale loss

Omaha turned Louisville’s missed chances into a 7-2 win Sunday afternoon at Louisville Slugger Field, using one decisive fourth inning to close out the final game of the six-game series before the All-Star break. Louisville still won the series, but the finale showed how quickly the Bats can lose control when early openings go unrewarded.

Brandon Leibrandt took the loss after allowing seven hits, four earned runs and three walks over 3.2 innings, striking out two. The 33-year-old left-hander was making his 16th start of the season, and Omaha got to him first when Drew Waters doubled in a run in the second inning. Louisville answered to tie it 1-1, with Carlos Jorge singling and later scoring on Will Benson’s RBI fielder’s choice.

The game broke open in the fourth. Leibrandt opened the inning by walking two batters, and after Omaha loaded the bases with a single, Andrew Velazquez lifted a sacrifice fly to put the Storm Chasers back in front. Matthew Lugo followed with a two-run double to right-center, turning a tight contest into a 4-1 cushion and putting Louisville in immediate chase mode.

Michael Chavis and Austin Hendrick both reached in earlier traffic, and Jorge kept putting pressure on Omaha’s defense, but the inning never fully cracked open. Luca Tresh helped Omaha survive one of those threats with a diving foul-pop grab.

Omaha added a run in the fifth when Gavin Cross lined an RBI single for a 5-1 lead. Louisville later got runs from P.J. Higgins doubles and a late RBI single by Benson, and a dropped third strike briefly stirred a sixth-inning rally before Dominic Pitelli’s flyout ended that push. Luis Mey struck out four over 1.2 innings, and Zach Maxwell worked a clean eighth.

Louisville entered the day at 47-42 and fifth in the International League West, while Omaha was 32-41 and 13.5 games back. The Bats had won the first three games of the series, dropped the fourth and then won again Friday.