IOWA CUBS 8, ST. PAUL SAINTS 2 IN IOWA (GAME 1)

James Triantos hit a three-run double in the first, and Iowa added four more in the fourth to take a 7-0 lead.  Jair Camargo hit a two-run homer in the fifth for the only St. Paul runs.

Batters:  Carson McCusker was 3-for-3.  Jair Camargo hit a two-run homer, his second.

Pitchers:  Starter Marco Raya pitched 2.2 innings, allowing three runs on three hits and five walks and striking out two.

Opponents:  Carlos Perez was 3-for-4 with a home run (his fourth), two runs, and two RBIs.  James Triantos was 2-for-3 with a double and four RBIs.  Connor Noland struck out eight in six innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks.

IOWA CUBS 8, ST. PAUL SAINTS 7 IN IOWA (GAME 2--8 INNINGS)

It looked good for quite a while.  St. Paul scored two in the second to take a 2-1 lead, they added two in the fourth to make it 4-1, and scored one more in the seventh to take a 5-1 lead.  All they had to do was get three outs before Iowa scored four runs.  Unfortunately, they couldn't do it.  Two doubles, a two-run homer by Reese McGuire, and a solo shot by Carlos Perez tied the score.  Undaunted, Mickey Gasper delivered a two-run double in the eighth to put St. Paul up 7-5.  But then they were daunted again, as Chase Strumpf hit a two-run homer to tie it and Matt Shaw hit a walkoff homer for Iowa.

Batters:  Mike Ford was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, two runs, and an RBI.  Carson McCusker was 2-for-4 with two doubles, a walk, and a run.  Emmanuel Rodriguez was 2-for-4 with a triple, a double, and an RBI.

Pitchers:  Darren McCaughan struck out five in five innings, giving up one run on six hits and one walk.  Ryan Jensen pitched a scoreless inning despite giving up two hits and two walks.  He struck out one.

Opponents:  Jonathon Long was 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI.  Chase Strumpf was 2-for-2 with a two-run homer (his seventh) and two walks.  Matt Shaw was 2-for-4 with two home runs, his third and fourth.  James Triantos was 2-for-4.  Reese McGuire hit a two-run homer, his third.  Carlos Perez hit a home run, his fifth.  Tom Cosgrove pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit and two walks.

Stats:  Mickey Gasper, .365, 1.284 OPS.  Carson McCusker, .356, 1.086 OPS.  Mike Ford, .849 OPS.  Will Holland, .836 OPS.  Darren McCaughan, 2.16 ERA.  Brady Feigl, 2.35 ERA.

Record:  St. Paul is 21-18, in fourth place, 3.5 games behind Nashville.

ARKANSAS TRAVELERS 5, WICHITA WIND SURGE 3 IN WICHITA

Arkansas scored single runs in the third and fifth.  Wichita tied it 2-2 in the fifth.  Each team scored one in the sixth.  But in the ninth, Hunter Fitz-Gerald hit a two-run homer to put Arkansas ahead to stay.  Wichita went down in order in the bottom of the ninth.

Batters:  No one had more than one hit.

Pitchers:  Aaron Rozek struck out six in five innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks.  John Klein struck out four in three innings, giving up an unearned run on a hit and a walk.

Opponents:  Victor Labrada was 2-for-3 with an RBI.  Hunter Fitz-Gerald was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his second) and two runs.  Blake Rambusch was 2-for-4 with a triple and a run.  Michael Morales pitched four perfect innings, striking out three.  Brandyn Garcia struck out two in two perfect innings.

Stats:  Ricardo Olivar, .322, .865 OPS.  Tyler Dearden, .316, .860 OPS.  Kyler Fedco, .865 OPS.  Aaron Sabato, .852 OPS.  Noah Cardenas, .837 OPS.  John Klein, 3.26 ERA.

Record:  Wichita is 20-16, tied for first with Arkansas.

CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 15, PEORIA CHIEFS 7 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

Gabriel Gonzalez hit a two-run homer in the first to put Cedar Rapids up 2-0.  Brayden Jobert hit a three-run homer in a four-run third to give Peoria a 4-2 advantage.  In the bottom of the third, Brandon Winokur and Gonzalez hit two-run doubles and Khadim Diaw hit a two-run homer to give Cedar Rapids an 8-4 lead.  They scored one in the fourth and then had a second six-run inning in the fifth to put the game out of reach.  Diaw hit his second homer and Kyle DeBarge had a two-run double in the inning.

Batters:  Gabriel Gonzalez was 4-for-6 with a home run, two doubles, two runs, and six RBIs.  Nate Baez was 2-for-2 with two walks and a run.  Kyle DeBarge was 2-for-4 with a double, two walks, two runs, and three RBIs.  Brandon Winokur was 2-for-4 with two doubles, two runs, and two RBIs.  Jaime Ferrer was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, two runs, and an RBI.  Khadim Diaw was 2-for-5 with two home runs (his second and third) and three RBIs.

Pitchers:  Starter Jose Olivares pitched three innings, giving up four runs on four hits and two walks and striking out two.  Samuel Perez pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk and striking out one.  Juan Mercedes pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opponents:  Tre Richardson was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and a run.  Johnfrank Salazar was 2-for-4 with a run.  Joshua Baez was 2-for-5 with two doubles, two runs, and an RBI.  Jon Jon Gazdar was 2-for-5 with a run.  Ryan Campos was 2-for-5.  Brayden Jobert hit a two-run homer.  Michael Curialle hit a home run, his fourth.  Tyler Bradt struck out four in 2.1 shutout innings, giving up two hits and two walks.

Stats:  Nate Baez, .341, .909 OPS.  Gabriel Gonzalez, .333, .937 OPS.  Jose Salas, .320, 1.132 OPS.  Kyle DeBarge, .909 OPS.  Paulshawn Pasqualotto, 0.95 ERA.

Record:  Cedar Rapids is 21-14, in second place, 1.5 games behind Quad Cities.

JUPITER HAMMERHEADS 12, FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 6 IN JUPITER

Fort Myers scored in each of the first two innings to take a 2-0 lead, but Jupiter responded with two Abe Lincoln innings to lead 8-3 after five.  Jessada Brown hit a two-run homer in the fifth.  They scored three more in the sixth, and it was all over but the shouting.  By the time Fort Myers scored its final run in the ninth, even the shouting had died down.

Batters:  Maddux Houghton was 2-for-3 with a triple, two walks, and three runs.  Peyton Eeles made his season debut, going 2-for-3 with a run.  Miguel Briceno was 2-for-4 with a walk, a run, and an RBI.

Pitchers:  Starter Michael Carpenter struck out three in three innings, but allowed four runs on six hits and no walks.  Devin Kirby pitched a perfect inning, striking out one.

Opponents:  Lots of them.  Jesus Hernandez was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Abrahan Ramirez was 3-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs.  Yeral Martinez was 3-for-5 with a double, a run, and an RBI.  Jessada Brown was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and two runs.  Ian Lewis was 2-for-5 with a double, two runs, and an RBI.  Dillon Head was 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI.

Stats:  Peyton Eeles, .667, 1.334 OPS.  Poncho Ruiz, .318, .870 OPS.  Ivran Romero, 2.70 ERA.

Record:  Fort Myers is 16-20, in fifth place, six games behind Dunedin.

FCL RAYS 2, FCL TWINS 1 AT RAYS

Bryan Acuna singled home a run in the first, but that was it for the Twins.  The Rays scored single runs in the second and third to take the lead and eventually the win.

Batters:  Bryan Acuna was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.

Pitchers:  Starter Melvin Rodriguez pitched three innings, giving up two runs on two hits and two walks, striking out one.  Ruddy Gomez struck three in two shutout innings, giving up three hits.  Santiago Rojas pitched a perfect inning.

Opponents:  Derek Datil was 2-for-2 with an RBI.  Miguel Toscano struck out five in 4.2 innings, giving up one run on three hits and three walks.

Stats:  Jayson Bass, .300, .862 OPS.  Bryan Acuna, .885 OPS.  Ruddy Gomez, zero ERA.  Santiago Rojas, zero ERA.  Melvin Rodriguez, 2.25 ERA.

Record:  The Twins are 5-3, in second place, two games behind the Rays.

TODAY'S TILTS

11:00  FCL Red Sox at FCL Twins
5:30  Fort Myers (Dylan Questad, 3.86) at Jupiter (TBD)
6:35  Peoria (Juan Salas, 1-3, 7.09) at Cedar Rapids (Jeremy Lee, 2-2, 8.20)
6:35  Arkansas (Reid VanScoter, 0-0, 4.05) at Wichita (Christian MacLeod, 0-1, 1.06)
7:08  St. Paul (Zebby Matthews, 2-1, 1.93) at Iowa (Peter Solomon, 0-1, 3.12)