IL Iowa Cubs

Iowa Defeats Columbus in Extras

Published on July 24, 2021 under International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


COLUMBUS, OH - The Iowa Cubs (29-39) beat the Columbus Clippers (30-39) in extra innings on Saturday at Huntington Park, taking the series lead with a 9-5 victory in game five.

The I-Cubs took the first lead of the game on Taylor Gushue's seventh home run of the year, which he launched to lead off the second inning and give the I-Cubs a 1-0 advantage. Iowa added another run in the next inning, loading the bases on two hits and a walk ahead of Frank Schwindel, who drove in one with a sacrifice fly.

Iowa starter Adrian Sampson did his part, too, keeping the Clippers in check through the early innings. He allowed the leadoff hitter to reach in each of the first three frames, but managed to strand all three runners. He allowed just one run on four hits in his first four innings, but Columbus broke through in the fifth, collecting two more runs to take a 3-2 lead and chase Sampson from the game after 4.2 innings of work.

The Clippers kept adding on against Iowa's bullpen, tagging Kyle Ryan for two runs in the seventh. The I-Cubs had an answer for them, however, using an RBI double from Alfonso Rivas and a two-run home run from Nick Martini to knot the game up at five in the eighth inning.

From there, Iowa's bullpen was airtight. Manuel Rodriguez allowed two hits but no runs in the eighth, and Ben Leeper walked the leadoff man but then struck out the side in the ninth, sending the game to extras.

In the tenth, Schwindel and Martini hit back-to-back doubles, bringing in three to give Iowa the lead. The top half of the inning was capped off by an Ian Miller RBI single, extending Iowa's lead to 9-5. Leeper returned for a second inning of work, keeping the Clippers off the board to earn his second win of the year.

POSTGAME NOTES:

Andrew Romine extended his hitting streak to five games with his second straight multi-hit performance. He has collected more than one hit in five out of seven games he's played against Columbus this season.

Nick Martini notched his fourth outfield assist of the season tonight, throwing out Wilson Ramos at second base from right field. He is now second on the active roster in outfield assists behind Ian Miller, who has five.

Alfonso Rivas went 1-for-1 with four walks, which is a new team high for walks in a single game by an Iowa player this season. Rivas' six-game hitting streak is now one game shy of his season-high.

After taking the loss in game three of the series, Ben Leeper earned the win in tonight's game. He moved to 2-1 with Iowa this season.

Iowa will go for the series win against Columbus in the sixth and final game of the series at Huntington Park tomorrow afternoon. First pitch between the two teams is set for 3:05 CT. For more information and tickets, visit www.iowacubs.com.

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International League Stories from July 24, 2021


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