I-Cubs Hold On in Close Contest Against Omaha

OMAHA, NE – The Iowa Cubs (37-46) held on and took game two against the Omaha Storm Chasers (53-28) by a score of 4-3 in a back-and-forth affair on Tuesday night.

Iowa grabbed hold of the lead in the early goings of the contest as it plated two runs in the second inning. BJ Murray Jr. got the scoring started with a double in the right-center field gap, which scored Owen Caissie. Murray Jr. then eventually came around to score on an RBI groundout by Bryce Windham.

Behind the arm of Iowa starter Dan Straily, the score remained at 2-0 after five innings of play. The veteran right-hander stifled the Omaha offense during that span recording eight strikeouts compared to three walks and just one hit allowed.

In the sixth, the I-Cubs added to their lead with a solo home run from Matt Mervis but Omaha answered in the bottom half of the inning. With Straily’s outing done, the Storm Chasers cut their deficit with a two-run homer off the bat of Nick Pratto to make the score 3-2.

A key insurance run was tacked on in the ninth for Iowa as Murray Jr. sent his second hit of the night over the right field wall with a solo blast. That run was key because John Rave drew Omaha within one, at 4-3, on a solo shot of his in own in the bottom of the frame, but Hunter Bigge sealed the deal for the I-Cubs with a strikeout of Pratto and picked up his fifth save of the season.

POSTGAME NOTES:
• Dan Straily set a new personal season-high and tied a season-high by any I-Cubs pitcher with his eight strikeouts. Straily started his outing by striking out the first six batters he faced as well.
• Luis Vazquez, who was just activated from the injured list, went 0-for-4 in his return from injury.
• Rave’s home run was the first run that Hunter Bigge had allowed in 10.2 innings of work with Iowa this season.

Iowa and Omaha will continue their six-game series with game three on Wednesday. First pitch from Werner Park is slated for 7:05 pm CT. You can listen to all Iowa Cubs games on Hope AM940 and stream every home game for free on the Bally Live App. For more information and tickets, visit www.iowacubs.com.