I-Cubs Win Sixth In A Row, Defeat Louisville 8-4

LOUISVILLE, KY – The Iowa Cubs (80-62) claimed their sixth consecutive victory on Tuesday night as they won the series opener against the Louisville Bats (72-71) from Louisville Slugger Field by a score of 8-4.

It was Iowa who struck first with a run scored in the top of the first inning. After a pair of walks, outfielder Darius Hill poked a single through the right side of the infield to score Cole Roederer.

The I-Cubs increased their lead in the third inning as two more runs came across the plate stretching the lead to 3-0. Roederer drove in the first run with a single back up the middle. The second run came courtesy of David Bote. With two outs in the frame, Bote hit a pop up to the infield, but the Louisville defense had trouble playing the ball and let it drop, which allowed Roederer, who was off on contact, to come around and score.

Chuckie Robinson gave the Bats their first run of the night with a solo home run in the bottom of the third, but Iowa immediately responded with three runs of its own. Nelson Maldonado matched Robinson with a solo blast, Yonathan Perlaza scored on a wild pitch, and Hill recorded his second RBI single of the ballgame setting the score at 6-1.

In the fifth, Louisville cut Iowa’s lead in half scoring a pair of runs. TJ Hopkins drove in the first on a single to center field and Jason Vosler followed with a sacrifice fly. In the seventh the Bats inched even closer with another run coming off a wild pitch making the score 6-4.

The I-Cubs then received a couple clutch insurance runs in the eighth as the duo of Roederer and Hill continued their big nights at the plate. Roederer increased Iowa’s lead back to three runs with an RBI triple to the right field corner and was brought in on a bunt single by Hill a couple batters later.

Brendon Little took over on the mound for the I-Cubs in the later innings and shut the door on any comeback attempt by the Bats. The left-hander spun the final 2.2 innings of the game and held the Louisville offense scoreless, allowing just one hit, one walk, and recording two strikeouts to secure the win.

POSTGAME NOTES:
• With a double in the top of the third inning, Perlaza now has 40 two-baggers on the season. He also is the only player in franchise history to record a season with 20 home runs and 40 doubles.
• Maldonado’s home run in the fourth was Iowa’s 200th of the season, which is 16 shy of the franchise record set during the 1998 season.
• Eight of Iowa’s nine starters recorded at least one hit in tonight’s contest with four players having multi-hit performances. Hill led the charge going 3-for-4 with three RBI.

Iowa and Louisville will play game two of their six-game series tomorrow with first pitch slated for 11:05 am CT from Louisville Slugger Field. 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.