MERVIS POWERS IOWA OVER COLUMBUS

DES MOINES, IA – Matt Mervis hit two home runs to lead the Iowa Cubs (19-19) to a 5-3 win over the Columbus Clippers (15-22) tonight at Principal Park.

Iowa jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a 455-foot home run from Mervis. Darius Hill added to the I-Cubs lead in the second with a sacrifice fly, making it 3-0 Iowa.

Columbus’ Juan Brito cut the Iowa lead to 3-1 with a run-scoring double in the third and to 3-2 in the fifth with a solo home run.

In the seventh inning, Daniel Schneemann tied the game at 3-3 for the Clippers with a single, but Mervis hit his second homer of the game in the bottom half of the frame, giving Iowa a 5-3 lead.

Dan Straily made the start for Iowa and tossed 5.0 innings and allowed two runs on four hits with six strikeouts. Carl Edwards Jr. pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his third save.

POSTGAME NOTES:

• The I-Cubs won back-to-back games for the first time since April 20-21 vs. Louisville.
• Matt Mervis had his second two-homer game of the season and his first three-hit game since April 9, 2024 at St. Paul in which he had four hits.