KNIGHT’S CAREER DAY LIFTS I-CUBS OVER SAINTS

ST. PAUL, MN – The only thing that was not remarkable about Caleb Knight's performance on Monday against the Saints was a fielding error in his second career start at third base. But at the plate, his 3-for-4 performance, which included his first career multi-homer game and a career-high 4 RBI, was just what the Iowa Cubs (60-73) needed to dispel the St. Paul Saints (63-69) by an 11-8 final on Labor Day at CHS Field.

Iowa hopped in front in the first when Owen Caissie was hit by a pitch to lead off the game, advanced to third on a one-out Moises Ballesteros double, and then made it home when Ballesteros tried to steal second and got caught in a rundown after Saints pitcher Caleb Baragar threw it to first.

St. Paul tied it in the bottom of the first as DaShawn Keirsey scored on an Emmanuel Rodriguez groundout. Iowa’s Daniel Missaki allowed a single, a walk, fired three wild pitches, and was called for multiple pitch clock violations in his first inning as a starter in affiliated ball since 2015, but escaped allowing just one to cross.

The I-Cubs put up seven in the top of the third to take an 8-1 lead thanks to three homers. First, Kevin Alcantara’s three-run shot over the left field wall brought in Hayden Cantrelle and Cassie. Then Ballesteros launched a solo shot to right to go back-to-back with Alcantara. Finally, five batters later, Knight’s 400-plus foot blast plated Chase Strumpf and Brennen Davis for the second three-run dinger of the inning.

Iowa extended the lead to 10-1 in the sixth when Knight hit his second homer of the day to earn the first multi-homer game of his career, and then Caissie drove in Cantrelle with his second two-bagger of the day.

The Saints got two in the bottom of the sixth, behind RBI singles from Diego Castillo and Payton Eeles, to cut the deficit to 10-3.

The visitors added another in the top of the eighth as Ballesteros was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Matt Mervis scored.

The hosts made it 11-5 in the bottom of the eighth with RBI singles from Eeles and Rylan Bannon and added three more in the ninth, but the Cubs hung on, 11-8.

POSTGAME NOTES:

· Saturday marked Knight’s first career multi-homer game, career-high for RBI, fourth career game with three or more hits, and second career start at third base

· Iowa had four players (Caissie, Alcantara, Ballesteros, and Knight) with multiple hits on Monday

· The Cubs 11 runs, four homers, and seven runs in the third inning were each one short of their season-high in those respective categories (runs in a game, home runs in a game, and runs in an inning)

· The third inning marked Iowa’s first three-homer inning this season

Iowa will play at St. Paul on Wednesday for the second 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.