September 18 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs at Omaha Storm Chasers
IL Iowa Cubs

September 18 Game Notes: Iowa Cubs at Omaha Storm Chasers

Published on September 18, 2026 under International League (IL)
Iowa Cubs News Release


IOWA CUBS (30-39, 60-81) at OMAHA STORM CHASERS (35-33, 64-78)

September 17 - 6:35 PM CT - Werner Park - Papillion, NE

GAME ONE: LHP Justin Steele (0-1, 6.35) vs. LHP John Means (0-0, 1.29)

GAME TWO: LHP Braxton Garrett (2-2, 4.56) vs. RHP Henry Williams (5-5, 6.22)

TONIGHT'S GAMES: The Iowa Cubs and the Omaha Storm Chasers are set to play the second and third games of a five-game series at Werner Park tonight... left-hander Justin Steele is slated to open game one for Iowa with Omaha countering with John Means ... in game two, it will be left-hander Braxton Garrett vs. right-hander Henry Williams.

ANOTHER ONE: The I-Cubs took game one of the series over Omaha by a 3-2 score last night and have won three of their last four games...Iowa tallied just four hits, one apiece from Owen Ayers, Kevin Alcántara, Chas McCormick and Ben Cowles with Ayers and McCormick each having a double...starting pitcher Connor Noland pitched 5.0 hitless innings with six strikeouts to earn his fourth win... Gabe Klobosits picked up his fifth save after he tossed a scoreless inning and earned his fifth save.

MAYBE ANOTHER DAY: Last night, the I-Cubs and Storm Chasers played the first game of the series... the two clubs were postponed for the second straight night on Wednesday and are set to play a doubleheader tonight...it marked the ninth game this season in which the I-Cubs were postponed or canceled with the last being a cancelation on Sept. 8 vs. Toledo...it was just the third time this year Iowa has been postponed on the road, following July 24 at Gwinnett.

LETS PLAY TWO: The I-Cubs and the Storm Chasers are set to play a doubleheader on Friday night at Werner Park...it marks the second time this year the two teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader, also doing so on April 10 at Principal Park, where Omaha swept the pair of games...this is the fifth doubleheader Iowa has played in this year and second on the road, last playing a road doubleheader against Gwinnett July 25...Iowa has a record of 1-7 in doubleheaders this year, their lone victory coming on June 6 in game one versus Toledo.

MAN OF STEELE: Left-handed pitcher Justin Steele made his third outing in a competitive game last Thursday night versus Toledo...he pitched 2.0 innings and allowed two runs on four hits while striking out three...last Wednesday at Columbus he made his first competitive outing since April 7, 2025 vs. Texas...he threw 1.2 innings and allowed one earned run on three hits...he was placed on the injured list on April 9, 2025 with left elbow tendinitis...Steele was named an All-Star in 2023 and has gone 32-22 with a 3.30 ERA (186 ER in 506.2 IP) in 102 games (91 starts) with the Cubs.

JUMPMAN: Jordan Nwogu hit his third Triple-A home run on Sunday...he collected his fourth multi-hit game in his last nine games played on Saturday, going 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, and three RBI...it is the first time he has recorded three RBI in a game at the Triple-A level and first time he has done so in a game this season...he last had three RBI in a game on Sept. 6, 2025 with Double-A Knoxville against Rocket City...in the month of September, Nwogu is batting .394 (13-for-33) with three doubles, a triple, two home runs and 10 RBI, raising his batting average for the season from .186 to .261 during the stretch.

THE OFFENSIVE: The I-Cubs recorded 16 hits in Friday nights contest versus Toledo, the most they have had in a single game since July 19 at Memphis...they scored five runs in the seventh inning of the contest, the most runs they have scored in a single inning since scoring four runs in the tenth inning on August 22 at Toledo...they went on to score six runs in the fourth inning of Saturday's contest... prior to Friday night the last time they had scored at least five runs in a single inning was on August 13 versus St. Paul, scoring six runs in the first inning.

HOME SWEET HOME: The I-Cubs played their final home game of the 2026 season on Sunday, finishing the 2026 season with an overall home record of 30-43 (.410)...two home games were cancelled due to inclement weather, with Norfolk being the only Triple-A team to not have at least 30 victories at home.

NASTY NOLAND: Iowa Cubs starter Connor Noland picked up his fourth win last night as he pitched 5.0 innings and did not allow a hit or a run...he walked two batters and struck out six...it marked the first time an I-Cubs starter has pitched at least 5.0 hitless innings since Riley Thompson did so on April 20, 2023 in the second game of a doubleheader at Buffalo.

RUNNER: James Triantos went 2-for-4 Saturday and now has 127 hits and 26 stolen bases on the season... the last I-Cub to match those numbers was John Andreoli with 130 hits and 43 stolen bases in 2016... James ranks among International League leaders in batting average (5th, .197), doubles (T-3rd, 30) and hits (7th, 127).

CHAS: Chas McCormick collected his third consecutive multi-hit game on Sunday, going 3-for-3... Sunday marked the fifth time this season he has had a three-hit game, three of which have come since August 18...he has collected six multi-hit games in his last 11 games, with two streaks of three consecutive multi-hit games...prior to September, he had one instance this year where he had three consecutive multi-hit games, collecting two hits in each of the games played on May 22-May 24 against Memphis...over his last 22 games, he is batting .390/.484/.686 (30-for-77) with seven doubles, four home runs, 16 RBI, and 13 walks... in the month of September, Chas is batting .439/.500/.707 (18-for-41)...since August 18, he ranks first in the International League in on-base percentage (.484) second in batting average (.390), fourth in OPS (1.120), sixth in hits (30) and sixth in slugging percentage (.636).

THE JAG: Kevin Alcantara belted his 20th home run of the season Friday night, setting a new career high for home runs in a single season, surpassing his previous career high of (17) in 2025 with Iowa...he has played at first base in five of his last seven games, the first time in his professional career he has logged time at the position in a game.

VERSUS OMAHA: The I-Cubs and the Storm Chasers are meeting for the final time of the 2026 season... Iowa won the series 4-2 in Des Moines August 25-30, including back-to-back walkoff wins on the 28th and 29th...against Omaha, Iowa currently holds a season record of 7-5...this week is the only time the I-Cubs make the trip to play at Werner Park this year.

AYE-RS!: Chicago Cubs' No. 2 overall prospect catcher Owen Ayers threw out his 38th and 39th runners of the season Thursday night between Advanced-A, Double-A and Triple-A, which is tied for ninth-most of any player at those levels...it also marked the fifth time in 31 appearances at catcher since being promoted to Triple-A he has caught multiple runners stealing in the same game, last doing so on September 3 at Columbus...since being promoted to Triple-A on July 17, he has recorded 17 runners caught stealing, which is 11th most amongst all Triple-A catchers across the full 2026 season...Owen went 2-for-5 on Friday night, recording his 11th multi-hit performance in 44 games at the Triple-A level.

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