Louisville Cruises Past Iowa in 17-5 Win

DES MOINES, IA – The Iowa Cubs (30-41) fell in game two of the series by a score of 17-5 to the Louisville Bats (28-45), Wednesday at Principal Park.

Louisville started the scoring in the top of the first, with an RBI single from Alex Blandino. The I-Cubs would tie it in the second, when Abiatal Avelino hit a solo home run.

The game would stay tied at 1-1 until the fifth inning, when Louisville broke it open against I-Cubs starter Joe Biagini. In the fifth, the Bats scored seven runs on seven hits, including three doubles, one triple and two home runs.

They weren’t done scoring, as they added two more in the sixth, six in the seventh and one in the eighth to go up 17-1. Dakota Mekkes, Rowan Wick and Ryan Lawlor combined to allow 10 runs on nine hits and four walks through 3.2 innings.

Iowa showed some fight, scoring three in the eighth on a Caleb Knight home run, bringing their deficit to 13. Manuel Rodriguez threw a scoreless ninth inning for Iowa, allowing one hit and striking out a batter.

Tony Wolters added a run in the final frame for the I-Cubs, but it wasn’t enough as Louisville closed out the 17-5 victory, evening the series at one game apiece.

POSTGAME NOTES:

• Louisville set their season high with 17 runs, their most runs scored since July 13, 2012. They tied the most runs (17) and set the most hits (17) Iowa’s pitching staff has allowed this year.

• Caleb Knight’s three-run shot in the eighth inning was the first Triple-A home run of his career.

• The 12-run loss marked Iowa’s biggest loss of the season. They’ve lost by 11 twice this season, most recently on June 26, in a 13-2 loss to Omaha.

Iowa and Louisville will meet for game three of the six game series tomorrow night, with first pitch set for 7:08 pm CT, Thursday at Principal Park. For more information and tickets, visit www.iowacubs.com.