Swarmer Tosses Six Strong, Leads Iowa to Victory

DES MOINES, IA - The Iowa Cubs improved to 12-7 with a 6-4 win over the Nashville Sounds (5-14) in the homestand opener, Wednesday at Principal Park. The I-Cubs recorded a season-high 13 hits while holding Nashville to four.

Iowa rallied with two outs in the first to take an early 2-0 lead. Addison Russell, appearing in his first rehab game with the I-Cubs, started the rally with a walk and an easy heist of second base. Phillip Evans singled to put two on and Cristhian Adames did the damage with an RBI single. An error on the play allowed a second run to score.
Nashville cut Iowa's lead in half with a Matt Davidson solo shot in the second, but that was the only offense the Sounds would generate off starter Matt Swarmer. Swarmer cruised through 6.0 frames, holding Nashville to two hits and one walk while fanning six.  
The I-Cubs added to the lead as Johnny Field scored on a wild pitch in the fourth, and Adames cracked a solo homer in the fifth.
Iowa added insurance in the eighth with RBI singles from Russell and Jim Adduci that would come in handy late in the game. After Tony Barnette, with Iowa on a rehab assignment, and Carl Edwards Jr. both spun perfect innings in relief, James Norwood gave up a three-run home run to Willie Calhoun. Norwood battled back, striking out the next two batters to close out the game.
Postgame Notes:
• In two games since coming off the IL, Cristhian Adames is 4-for-7 with three runs, three RBI and two walks, and has homered in back-to-back games.  
• In his first rehab game with Iowa, Addison Russell went 1-for-4 with an RBI, one walk and one strikeout.
• Jim Adduci went 3-for-4 with one double and one RBI. Ian Happ, Johnny Field and Phillip Evans all logged two-hit games.
The I-Cubs and Sounds play a 6:38 p.m. game tomorrow for Game 2 of the set. Promotions include Social Media Night and Mug Club. For more information or tickets, visit www.iowacubs.com.