Saints Avoid Being No-Hit, But Fall 8-1 To I-Cubs

DES MOINES, IA (June 28, 2024) - The St. Paul Saints have been the best offensive team in all of Minor League Baseball in the month of June leading in all three slash categories. They met their match on Friday night at Principal Park as starter Riley Thompson put a stranglehold on an offense that had double-digit hits in five-straight games. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. broke up the no-hitter with a solo homer in the seventh, but a six-run eighth inning put the game out of reach and the Saints lost 8-1 to the Iowa Cubs.

The I-Cubs drew first blood in the first when Moises Ballesteros worked a 10-pitch walk and that was followed by back-to-back singles from Matt Mervis and Owen Caissie, the latter an infield single to third that scored Ballesteros making it 1-0.

From then on it was about pitching on both sides. The Saints managed a walk in the first, second, and two in the third, but couldn’t muster a hit off Riley.

Saints starter Caleb Boushley, coming off his International League Pitcher of the Week honor last week, settled down after the first. He retired 15 of 17 from the last out of the first through two outs in the sixth while Thompson retired 12 in a row from one out in the third until one out in the seventh.

In the sixth the I-Cubs added an insurance run on back-to-back two out doubles from Chase Strumpf and BJ Murray Jr. increasing the lead to 2-0. Boushley went 6.0 innings allowing two runs on six hits while walking two and striking out five.

History was averted for the Saints in the seventh. With one out DaShawn Keirsey Jr. took a change up and drilled it over the center field wall, his 10^th of the season, getting the Saints within 2-1. Keirsey would collect the only other hit for the Saints, a two-out single in the ninth.

The I-Cubs put up six insurance runs in the eighth due to sloppy defense by the Saints. Caissie led off the inning with a double to left. Strumpf laid down a sacrifice bunt in the air. Pitcher Ronny Henriquez charged and on the short hop pushed the ball into foul territory for an error putting runners at the corners. Murray Jr. hit a ground ball to first that went off the glove of Edouard Julien into right field allowing a run to score and sending Strumpf to third as the I-Cubs took a 3-1 lead. With Murray Jr. going and Brooks Lee going to cover second, Bryce Windham poked an RBI single through the vacated shortstop hole increasing the lead to 4-1. A wild pitch scored Murray Jr. making it 5-1. Hayden Cantrelle made it 7-1 with a two-run homer to right, his second of the season. Cole Roederer followed with a single to right and, with two outs, went to third on a single by Mervis. The third error of the inning, and second on Julien on a ground ball by Caissie that went off his glove, scored the sixth run of the inning putting the final touches on an 8-1 game.

The same two teams meet in game five of a six-game series at Principal Park on Saturday night at 6:08 p.m. The Saints send RHP Louie Varland (2-6, 7.33) to the mound against I-Cubs LHP Thomas Pannone (4-7, 4.60). The game can be heard on KFAN Plus, 96.7 FM.