SAINTS DOWN I-CUBS WITH WALK OFF WIN

PAUL, MN – The St. Paul Saints (65-69) defeated the Iowa Cubs (60-75) by a 7-6 final with a walk off win in the bottom of the ninth Thursday night at CHS Field.

The hosts took a 3-0 lead in the first with two RBI singles by Yunior Severino and Rylan Bannon, respectively, and a Caleb Kilian wild pitch, which scored Emmanuel Rodriguez from third.

Iowa got one back in the top of the second via William Simoneit’s first Triple-A RBI this year, a single that hit off Saints starter Caleb Boushley and scored Matt Mervis from third.

In the top of the fourth, a Matt Shaw RBI groundout scored Simoneit and closed the gap to 3-2, Saints.

Hayden Cantrelle gave the I-Cubs a 4-3 advantage in the top of the sixth with a two-run shot. His third Iowa homer traveled 359 feet and cleared the right field wall.

The visitors added another two runs in the top of the seventh when Darius Hill launched his first homer of the year, a two-run shot that traveled 393 feet over the right field wall and exited Hill’s barrel at 105 miles per hour.

St. Paul tied it at six apiece in the bottom of the second with three of their own. A Severino single scored two and a Jair Camargo knock tied the game.

The Saints loaded the bases with nobody out in their half of the eighth, but Frankie Scalzo came out of the bullpen and got out of the jam with a strikeout and an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.

The I-Cubs weren’t so lucky in the ninth, however. With two outs, Anthony Prato notched his second walk off hit of the season, a single to center that plated Carson McCusker.

POSTGAME NOTES:

• Simoneit notched his first multi-hit game, extra-base hit, and RBI as an I-Cub
• Hill’s first home run of the season comes with just15 games remaining…He has never had a season without a home run
• The I-Cubs’ 6-9 hitters in the lineup each collected at least two hits and combined to go 9-for-18 with two homers, two doubles, and five RBI

Iowa will play at St. Paul on Friday for the fourth of a six-game series with first pitch slated for 6:37 p.m. CT at CHS Field. 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.