DES MOINES, Iowa - The Round Rock Express (60-44) topped the Iowa Cubs (57-48) 10-8 in a dramatic series opener on Friday night at Principal Park. E-Train 1B Nick Tanielu led the team to victory with a 3-5 night at the plate that included three doubles. Express reliever RHP Colin
DES MOINES, Iowa - The Round Rock Express (60-44) topped the Iowa Cubs (57-48) 10-8 in a dramatic series opener on Friday night at Principal Park. E-Train 1B Nick Tanielu led the team to victory with a 3-5 night at the plate that included three doubles.
Express reliever RHP Colin McKee (1-1, 10.38) earned his first career Triple-A victory despite allowing three runs on three hits and three walks in 1.2 innings of relief. On the losing side, I-Cubs ace starter RHP Colin Rea (11-3, 3.77) suffered the loss after getting shelled for nine runs on nine hits in 5.0 innings.
The back-and-forth affair kicked off with a two-run top of the first inning for Round Rock. SS Jack Mayfield collected a one-out single before DH Derek Fisher stepped to the plate and launched a two-run homer. However, Iowa cut their deficit in half in the bottom of the inning as 1B Dixon Machado singled before a walk by 2B Trent Giambrone . An RBI double off the bat of RF Mark Zagunis put the I-Cubs on the board.
In the second, Tanielu led off with his first double prior to an Alex De Goti single that pushed Tanielu to third. C Jamie Ritchie then grounded into a double play, but the relay left just enough time for Tanielu to sprint home with an insurance run.
After Iowa C P.J. Higgins answered with a solo homer in the bottom of the second, the Cubs took their first lead of the game in the third. 3B Phillip Evans lined a solo home run of his own to deep left field, leveling the game at 3-3. The inning continued as Zagunis doubled and moved to third on a Johnny Field groundout. An ensuing Donnie Dewees RBI single put the home side up 4-3.
The I-Cubs added to their lead in the fifth thanks to a one-out homer off the bat of Machado. The resilient Express responded to the two-run deficit with a four-run fifth. The big inning began with back-to-back walks by Ritchie and 3B Josh Rojas. Mayfield then tied the game with one swing of the bat, a two-run double. LF Taylor Jones later blasted his 18th home run of the season to score Mayfield, giving the E-Train a 7-5 advantage.
Round Rock piled on in the sixth inning thanks to a trio of doubles by Tanielu, De Goti and Mayfield, pushing the gap to 9-5 in favor of the Express.
The seesaw affair continued as Iowa narrowed the Round Rock lead to 9-8 with three runs in the home half of the inning. DH Taylor Davis sparked the rally with a leadoff single. Following a Machado single, Giambrone grounded into a force out that moved Davis to third but eliminated Machado at second. McKee then walked Zagunis and Field in consecutive order to force in a run. An ensuing Dewees single plated two more runs to cut the gap to one.
From there, the Round Rock bullpen went to work, holding Iowa scoreless in the final three frames to preserve the series-opening victory. RHP Ralph Garza and RHP Dean Deetz combined to throw 3.1 shutout innings, allowing just two hits and three walks while combining for four strikeouts. Deetz earned his first save of the season thanks to 2.0 dominant innings of relief.
Round Rock and Iowa meet again on Saturday night. E-Train RHP Brandon Bielak (4-3, 4.71) is scheduled to face an I-Cubs pitcher yet to be announced. First pitch at Principal Park in downtown Des Moines is set 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.
