The Iowa Cubs (17-19) survived a back and forth affair against the Columbus Clippers (19-18), winning 13-12 on Friday night at Principal Park.
Columbus came out of the gates with back-to-back home runs to lead off the game. They continued the onslaught in the second inning with a two out grand slam to blow the game open early with a 6-0 lead.
Iowa began their comeback, scoring two runs in the second inning to cut the deficit to 6-2. The I-Cubs then went on to score six runs in the fourth inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, Jonathon Long walked in a run and James Triantos hit a two run single to bring the I-Cubs within one. Owen Miller then blasted a three-run home run to put Iowa up 8-6.
They continued the run scoring in the fifth inning, putting three more on the board. Justin Dean hit a solo home run, and Jonathon Long and Kevin Alcantara hit a pair of RBI singles to put Iowa in front 10-6. Iowa went on to score their 11th unanswered run in the sixth inning when Eric Yang hit a solo home run to extend the lead to 11-6.
After Columbus scored a run in the eighth inning, Miller blasted his second home run of the game to put Iowa in front 13-7.
The Clippers had one more surge in them. Loading the bases with no outs in the ninth inning, they scored four runs before Iowa recorded an out to pull within two runs. With two outs in the ninth inning, a two-out, two-strike single brought them within one run and the go ahead run to the plate. After hitting the next batter and putting the tying run in scoring position, Gabe Klobosits recorded the strikeout to end the game, with Iowa surviving 13-12.
Iowa continues a six game series with the Columbus Clippers on Friday, with first pitch scheduled for 3:08 p.m. CT. You can listen to all Iowa Cubs games on Hope AM 940, 93.7 The Outlaw and stream every home game for free on the Bally Live App. For more information and tickets, visit www.iowacubs.com.