South Bend routs Rattlers
GRAND CHUTE, WI - The South Bend Cubs defeated the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 12-2 on Friday night at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Jesse Hodges homered, doubled twice, and drove in four runs for the Cubs. James Norwood allowed one hit over six scoreless innings for the win.
South Bend (53-61 overall, 24-23 second half) went in front with a run in the top of the second inning. David Bote started the inning with a single and was sacrificed to second base. Rattlers starting pitcher Nathan Kirby, who was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers with the 40th selection in the 2015 MLB draft out of Virginia, got the second out, but hit Matt Rose on a 1-2 pitch to extend the inning. Hodges doubled off the top of the wall in right to drive in Bote. Rose was thrown out at the plate as he tried to score on the play.
The Cubs added to their lead in the top of the third. Kirby walked the leadoff batter and issued another walk with one out. Ian Happ, the first round pick of the Chicago Cubs in the 2015 draft, lined a single to right and drove in a run. Bote was next and he doubled to the gap in right-center to score two more runs for a 4-0 lead.
Kirby retired the next two batters to end the third and struck out the first two batters of the fourth before leaving the game on his pitch limit.
South Bend scored again in the fifth inning with a long, solo home run off the bat of Happ against Luke Curtis. In the sixth, another RBI double by Hodges against Eric Hanhold made it 6-0.
Norwood did not allow a hit through the first five innings of the game. That changed in the sixth inning. Omar Cotto reached on an error to start the frame. Blake Allemand followed with an RBI double and Wisconsin (39-77, 16-30) picked up their first run of the game on their first hit. Later in the inning, Tucker Neuhaus drove in Allemand with a sacrifice fly and the Rattlers were within 6-2.
But, the Cubs got those two runs back in the top of the seventh inning on a run scoring wild pitch and an RBI single by Chancer Burks to go back up by six runs.
Gleyber Torres drove in a run with a two-out double in the top of the eighth after an error extended the inning against Hanhold. The Cubs poured it on in the ninth with three runs off Tyler Linehan, who returned to the active roster off the disabled list earlier in the day. Matt Rose drove in the first run with a single. Hodges completed his night - and the scoring in the game - with a two-run home run.
Allemand had a single in the eighth inning against reliever Ryan McNeil. Neuhaus had Wisconsin's other hit, a ninth inning double off McNeil.
Game two of the series is set for Saturday night. David Burkhalter (4-7, 4.90) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Jake Stinnett (5-4, 4.52) is set to start for the Cubs. Game time is 6:35pm.
Royalty returns to the ballpark for Storybook Princess Night. Stick around after the game for a great FOX 11 Fireworks display.
If you can't make it out to the game, the radio broadcast is on AM1280, WNAM starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:15pm. The broadcast is also available on Tune In Radio and IHeartRadio. If you are a subscriber to MiLB.TV, the game is also available on that platform.
HOME RUNS:
SB:
Ian Happ (3rd, 0 on in 5th inning off Luke Curtis, 2 out)
Jesse Hodges (6th, 1 on in 9th inning off Tyler Linehan, 2 out)
WP: James Norwood (2-1)
LP: Nathan Kirby (0-1)
SAVE: Ryan McNeil (1)
TIME: 2:58 (:58 delay)
ATTN: 4,564