April 21 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs vs. Louisville Bats
Published on April 21, 2026 under International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release
IOWA CUBS (11-9) vs. LOUISVILLE BATS (12-9)
April 21 - 6:38 PM CT - Principal Park - Des Moines, IA
RHP Paul Campbell (0-0, 4.50) vs. RHP Jose Franco (0-1, 18.00)
TONIGHT'S GAME: The Iowa Cubs and the Louisville Bats are set to play the first of a six-game series at Principal Park tonight...right-hander Paul Campbell is set to make his second start of the season and first at home for Iowa...right-hander Jose Franco is scheduled to start for Louisville.
SPLIT SECURED: The I-Cubs fell to the Columbus Clippers in the series finale on Sunday by a 12-8 score...the two teams split the six game series, with each team alternating wins... Ben Cowles led the Iowa offense with three hits and an RBI... Kevin Alcántara, Pedro Ramírez and Jonathon Long all tallied two hits and Alcántara and Long both homered... Connor Noland suffered the loss as he worked 3.0 innings and allowed seven runs on six hits.
HIT PARADE:
Thursday, the Iowa Cubs mustered a season-high 15 hits, including five extra-base knocks...it marked the most hits by Iowa since they tallied 16 on Sept. 11, 2025 in a 6-2 victory over Indianapolis.
HOT START: I-Cubs infielder B.J. Murray Jr. is batting .322 (19-for-59) with four home runs and nine RBI in 17 games...he has also walked 10 times vs. having just 13 strikeouts...B.J. hit just .204 (61-for-299) in 88 games in 2024 with Iowa.
BEN 10: Ben Cowles batted .100 (3-for-30) through his first 10 games of the season...Cowles has hit in seven straight games and is batting .462 (12-for-26) with three doubles, two home runs and nine RBI during that span...the seven-game stretch is Cowles longest since Aug. 20-27, 2025, he has not hit in seven straight since June 19-28, 2024 (nine games) with Double-A Somerset...dating back to April 10, he has raised his average .168 points, .100 to .268.
DAY TRACKERS: The I-Cubs have gone 7-3 during day games and 4-6 during night games...the seven day wins are the most in the International League West Division...four of the six games this series vs. Louisville are played during the day.
JONNY LONG BALL: Infielder Jonathon Long went 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI on Sunday...it marked his second home run of the year with the other coming on April 1...in 159 career games with the I-Cubs, Long is batting .304 (179-for-589) with 22 home runs and 105 RBI.
THE JAG: On Sunday, Kevin Alcántara hit his International League leading eighth home run off the season, following a stretch of three games in which he went hitless...Kevin has gone deep six times in his last 12 games and has nine RBI...his home run on Sunday was his 30th career long ball as an I-Cub.
NOTHING EXTRA: Thursday night, Iowa mustered just five hits and none went for extra bases...marked the first time Iowa has gone without an extra-base knock since Sept. 12, 2025 at Indianapolis in which they had just two hits and lost 4-0.
VOTE FOR PEDRO: Friday night, Cubs No. 8 prospect (MLB.com) Pedro Ramírez tallied his first four-hit game since Sept. 4, 2025 vs. Rocket City with Double-A Knoxville, he is the second I-Cub with a four-hit game following James Triantos on April 2 at Louisville...he ranks among International League leaders in runs scored (T-1st, 18), extra-base hits (T-2nd, 12), total bases (T-2nd, 47), RBI (T-3rd, 19), hits (T-4th, 25), doubles (T-6th, 7) and slugging (10th, .595)...last Thursday, Ramírez also became the first I-Cub to have at least four hits and five RBI in the same game since Christian Franklin on May 22, 2025 at Columbus.
VS. LOUISVILLE: The I-Cubs are playing their second series vs. Louisville this season and first at Principal Park...Iowa played in Louisville from March 31-April 5 and won five of the six games.
HOME SWEET HOME: The I-Cubs are set to play at Principal Park for their third home series of the season...Iowa has gone just 3-5 at home vs. 8-5 on the road, with five of the eight wins coming against tonight's opponent, Louisville.
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