Clinton offense struggles, L'Kings fall 5-1

South Bend, IN - Ominous skies prior to the game foretold the eventual final for the Clinton LumberKings (8-34, 34-77), as they fell for the seventh straight game in a 5-1 final to the South Bend Cubs (21-21, 50-59). South Bend scored the first four runs of the game and cruised the rest of the way, as a trio of pitchers limited Clinton to just one run on a handful of hits for the second straight game.

Lukas Schiraldi (L, 4-10) quickly retired the first five men that he faced Saturday evening in South Bend. But the Cubs rallied with two outs in the second inning and took the lead, one they did not relinquish. Charcer Burks and Erick Castillo each had a two-out single, while Schiraldi walked Vimael Machin and loaded the bases. After a meeting with pitching coach Cibney Bello, the righty got ahead of Rashad Brown 1-2, but hit the outfielder in the front ankle and forced in a run.

In the third inning, Schiraldi tallied one of his season high eight strikeouts to start the frame, but then allowed back-to-back doubles to Ian Happ and David Bote, the latter of which made it 2-0. Bote scored two batters later, as a pair of wild pitches brought him in from second base. Brown then homered off of Schiraldi in the third inning, as the Clinton starter allowed four earned runs on six hits over five innings in the loss.

For the Cubs, Jake Stinnett (W, 5-4) dazzled over seven three-hit innings. The righty matched a season high in innings pitched and did not allow a hit through the first five innings. He walked just two and struck out six in route to the win.

Wayne Taylor broke up Stinnett's no-hitter with a leadoff single in the sixth. Martin Peguero followed with a single, and a groundout by Arby Fields put men on second and third with two outs. A wild pitch from Stinnett plated Taylor, Clinton's lone run on the night. The LumberKings ended the night 0-7 with RISP and left seven men on base.

In relief of Schiraldi, Osmer Morales allowed one run and three hits over three innings. South Bend relievers Jordan Minch and Daniel Lewis each pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Jeffrey Baez had his eight-game hitting streak snapped, while Kristian Brito extended his hitting streak to seven games.

Winless on the road trip thus far, Clinton looks to salvage the series vs. the Cubs Sunday afternoon at 1:05 CT. Zack Littell (3-6, 4.04) is set to go for Clinton, while righty Zach Hedges (6-7, 3.90) is scheduled to start for the Cubs. The LumberKings broadcast can be heard on WCCI 100.3 FM, WCCIRadio.com, and LumberKings.com.