Balaguert's Bomb Propels South Bend to Win

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - A three-run margin spiraled downward into a blown lead and a late tie, but Yasiel Balaguert clubbed an eighth-inning home run to propel South Bend to a 9-7 win over Lake County on Friday night at Four Winds Field in the lidlifter of a four-game set.

"It feels amazing," Balaguert said. "It's the best feeling in life because I got a bomb, I got an RBI and my team win. That's the best feeling in my life."

The Cubs (8-8 second half, 37-46 overall) led 7-4 going to the seventh inning, but the Captains (5-10 second half, 41-42 overall) knotted the score, 7-7, in the top of the eighth. But Balaguert's blast resuscitated South Bend.

"In that situation, I go to home plate and I'm looking for my pitch high in the zone," Balaguert said. "He threw me my pitch. So I gotta get a bomb. I feel good."

The Cubs, who posted one and two runs, respectively, in consecutive losses against Fort Wayne entering Friday's tilt with the Captains, poured on three runs in the second and three more in the third.

Driven by left fielder Charcer Burks (1-for-2, one run, three RBI, two walks), shortstop Gleyber Torres (2-for-5, one run), Balaguert (2-for-5, three RBI), designated hitter Kevin Encarnacion (3-for-4, two runs) and center fielder Rashad Crawford (3-for-4, three RBI), the Cubs cracked 13 hits and never trailed.

Cubs starter Michael Wagner allowed four runs in five innings of six-hit ball, fanning three and walking none. Right-hander Alex Santana (two innings, one run) and lefty Sam Wilson (two innings, two runs) followed out of the bullpen.

Crawford crushed an RBI double to deep right-center field to score Encarnacion, who led off with a single, to make it 1-0 in the second inning. Burks then yanked a two-run double down the left-field line to stretch the advantage to 3-0.

The Captains trimmed the margin to 3-1 in the top of the third when leadoff man Greg Allen ripped an RBI triple down the right-field line. Allen then scored and made it 3-2 on an RBI groundout by right fielder Bobby Ison.

South Bend loaded the bases in the last of the third, and Crawford ripped a two-run single to right to push the lead to 5-2. Burks' sacrifice fly to left reeled in right fielder Jeffrey Baez from third.

The Captains climbed back within two, 6-4, on a two-run home run in the fourth by shortstop Yu-Cheng Chang.

Balaguert roped an RBI double to left field, scoring Torres, to push South Bend back up 7-4.

Allen reached on a fielder's choice in the seventh and raced around the bases with a stolen base, passed ball and wild pitch, pulling Lake County to a 7-5 deficit.

In the eighth, the Captains cut within one, 7-6, on an RBI groundout after another passed ball by South Bend. Lake County then tied the game, 7-7, on an RBI single to right by No. 9 hitter Steven Patterson.

After Balaguert's home run, Wilson worked a 1-2-3 ninth to cement the win.

South Bend and Lake County clash Saturday at 7:05 p.m. ET at Four Winds Field in the second of a four-game series. Cubs left-hander Tyler Ihrig (3.74 ERA in 2015, with stops in AAA, AA, High-A and South Bend) will oppose Captains lefty Thomas Pannone (3.80 ERA).