ROUND ROCK TAKES ANOTHER FROM IOWA

Des Moines, IA - Daniel Vogelbach smashed a three-run homer, but the Iowa Cubs (3-6) fell short of the Round Rock Express (6-3) 8-6 Friday night at Dell Diamond. Round Rock has now claimed five in a row from Iowa this season and six straight dating back to 2015. 

The Express put up three runs in the first inning as each of the first three batters reached base and eventually scored off Iowa starter Drew Rucinski. The I-Cubs took back two runs in the third when Ryan Kalish took a walk to open the inning, Kristopher Negrón reached on an error and Munenori Kawasaki brought both runners home with a double in his first game back from a stint with Chicago. 

Iowa knotted the game at 3-3 in the fifth with another RBI from Kawasaki, but Round Rock quickly responded with four runs in the bottom of the inning to leap to a 7-3 lead. Rucinski (0-2) was tagged with all seven runs and exited after 4.1 innings. Stephen Perakslis took over the mound for his Triple-A debut and gave up one run over 2.1 innings. 

The I-Cubs pulled within two with Vogelbach's eighth-inning home run, but left the bases loaded as the Express held off Iowa's come-back charge. 

Kalish reached base four times, going 2-for-2 with a double, two walks and two runs scored. Kawasaki and Vogelbach combined to drive in all of Iowa's runs with three RBI each. 

Iowa and Round Rock play game two of this four-game set tomorrow at 6:05 p.m. at Dell Diamond. Catch all the action on AM 940 or on www.iowacubs.com.