The weather forecast for Central Ohio Saturday afternoon made the Columbus Clippers’ home game with the Louisville Bats an iffy proposition. It turned out that the only meteorological impact of the front that moved through was the strong wind blowing out. The Clippers took an early lead, but the Bats roared back for a 10-7 win.

Louisville got on the board first with a run in the top of the first inning. In the bottom of the frame, Micah Pries went over the right field wall for a grand slam. It was Pries’s first long ball of the season. 

The Bats closed the gap with two runs in the third inning. The Clips responded with a run in the fourth, to make it 5-3, when Louisville center fielder Rece Hinds let Will Brennan’s single get past him and Christian Cairo came around to score.

Using the wind to their advantage, the Bats hit three home runs in the fifth inning and posted four runs. They then scored scored single runs in each of the next three innings to take a 10-5 lead.

Columbus chipped away with a run in the eighth on a Kyle Datres sacrifice fly and a run in the ninth on Will Wilson’s team-leading sixth home run of the season. But that’s all the Clippers could manage, falling 10-7.

Columbus starter Vince Velasquez went 4.1 innings, giving up two earned runs on four hits and striking out five. He did not figure into the decsion. Uncharacteristically, the Clippers’ bullpen underperformed, allowing seven runs on seven hits, three of those home runs. Bradley Hanner (2-1) took his first loss of the campaign.

The teams finish up their six-game series with an early afternoon affair Sunday. The first pitch is slated for 1:05 p.m. Kolby Allard (0-0) takes the mound for the Clippers, while Randy Wynne (0-2) will start for the Bats.