DES MOINES, Iowa - The Round Rock Express (42-30) fell to the Iowa Cubs (41-32) 4-3 in walkoff fashion to open their series on Thursday night at Principal Park. Round Rock notched two longballs in the contest, but the performance was outshined by an I-Cubs walkoff sacrifice fly in the
DES MOINES, Iowa - The Round Rock Express (42-30) fell to the Iowa Cubs (41-32) 4-3 in walkoff fashion to open their series on Thursday night at Principal Park. Round Rock notched two longballs in the contest, but the performance was outshined by an I-Cubs walkoff sacrifice fly in the ninth inning.
Iowa RHP James Norwood (3-0, 5.22) earned his third win of the year after holding Round Rock scoreless in the ninth inning, where he collected three strikeouts. E-Train RHP Humberto Castellanos (0-1, 2.35) suffered the loss after surrendering two runs on three hits in a 1.2-inning relief appearance.
Iowa opened scoring in the third inning as LF Robel Garcia and DH Dixon Machado teamed up for a pair of doubles, the second of which scored a run. Garcia stayed hot in the fifth as he shot a solo blast over the Principal Park fence to extend the I-Cubs lead to 2-0.
Express C Jamie Ritchie then got the E-Train rolling as he notched a solo homer of his own, cutting the deficit to 2-1 in the sixth. The next inning, 3B Nick Tanielu gave Round Rock their first lead of the night as he went yard for the 10th time this year, scoring CF Drew Ferguson , who had previously singled.
However, I-Cubs RF Donnie Dewees notched the game's fourth homer to level the score at 3-3 in the bottom of the eighth.
In the ninth, Round Rock loaded the bases thanks to a leadoff Taylor Jones double, followed by a Ferguson single and a Ritchie walk. However, Norwood struck out the side to work around the jam and keep the score level at 3-3.
Iowa secured the walkoff win in the home half as 1B Jim Adduci singled and advanced to third on a Trent Giambrone base hit. Cubs C Taylor Davis then drove in the game-winning run via a sacrifice fly to secure Iowa's 4-3 walkoff victory.
Round Rock battles Iowa on Friday night in search of their first win of the series. Express RHP Cy Sneed (5-6, 4.41) is set to start while the I-Cubs plan to counter with RHP Alec Mills (3-2, 5.33). First pitch at Principal Park is scheduled for 7:08 p.m.
For more information on the Express, visit RRExpress.com or call (512) 255-2255. Keep up with the Express on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and join the conversation during our historic 20th season using #20STROng.
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Round Rock Express Baseball, owned and operated by Ryan Sanders Baseball, LP, is the proud Triple-A Affiliate of the Houston Astros and a member of the Pacific Coast League
