Iowa Walks-Off and Walks for Series Tie

DES MOINES, IA – The Iowa Cubs (31-21) took Thursday’s suspended game 9-8 in extra innings, but dropped Friday’s regularly scheduled game to the Columbus Clippers (28-26) by a score of 15-2, Friday at Principal Park.

The first game between the two teams started on Thursday, as the two teams battled back-and-forth all afternoon. Iowa got out to a 3-0 lead on an RBI double from Jake Slaughter and a two-run single by Miguel Amaya.

Nick Neidert started his outing with four scoreless frames, but Columbus broke threw in the top of the fifth, tying the game. Raynel Delgado plated the first run with an RBI double followed by a ground out and an RBI single from Brayan Rocchio, making it 3-3.

The I-Cubs regained the lead with an RBI triple from Nick Madrigal in the sixth inning. Iowa held their 4-3 lead until the eighth inning, when Brendon Little walked three batters and surrendered a two-run single to Oscar Gonzalez. Madrigal came through with another big hit for the I-Cubs, using an RBI double to tie the game 5-5, but Columbus wasn’t done.

The Clippers scored three runs in the ninth on two doubles and a single to up 8-5. Once again, Iowa stormed right back to tie the game, getting three runs of their own on a three-run double from Yonathan Perlaza.

Iowa held Columbus off the board in the top of the 10th and loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning, but the game got suspended due to rain. The game resumed on Friday and on the second pitch, Chase Strumpf singled up the middle to score the game winning run.

Friday’s regularly scheduled game wasn’t as close, as Columbus jumped out to an early 5-0 lead on home runs from Bo Naylor and Daniel Schneemann. Strumpf got Iowa on the board in the second inning with a two-run blast of his own, making it a 5-2 game.

That was all the scoring the I-Cubs would manage, as the game got out of control. The Clippers scored six runs in the fifth and four in the eighth on five bases loaded walks, an RBI single from Marcos Gonzalez, two-run double by Richie Palacios and a two-run triple by Micah Pries.

With the score having grown to 15-2, Jared Young came into pitch for the I-Cubs, marking the first position player to pitch in a game for Iowa since Bryan Serra in 2021.

POSTGAME NOTES:

• Iowa’s top two hitters collected six of the team’s 12 total hits in Thursday’s game, combining to go 6-for-12 with five runs scored, four doubles, a triple and five runs batted in.
• Anthony Kay spun two scoreless innings of relief, allowing one walk while striking out three. It marked the third straight scoreless outing for the southpaw.
• Iowa allowed Columbus to score 15 runs on just seven hits in Friday’s regularly scheduled game. They walked 16 batters, setting a franchise high for a nine-inning game.

Iowa and Columbus will play game five of their six-game series Saturday night, with first pitch from Principal Park scheduled for 6:08 pm. You can listen to all Iowa Cubs games on Hope AM940 and stream them for free on the Bally Live App. For more information and tickets, visit www.iowacubs.com.