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Chiefs Upended in Second-Half Opener

Peoria falls to1-9 at Four Winds Field this season
June 24, 2022

South Bend, IN – Despite a quick start out of the gates, the Chiefs did not have an answer for the South Bend offense in a 13-4 defeat Friday. The Chiefs took an early 1-0 lead three batters into the contest. After a Mike Antico walk and a stolen base,

South Bend, IN – Despite a quick start out of the gates, the Chiefs did not have an answer for the South Bend offense in a 13-4 defeat Friday.

The Chiefs took an early 1-0 lead three batters into the contest. After a Mike Antico walk and a stolen base, Osvaldo Tovalin grounded one into right center to push Peoria out to an early advantage.

In the bottom of the inning, the first two Cubs batters reached against Chiefs starter Dionys Rodriguez. After a groundout pushed runners to second and third, a Rodriguez balk scored a run to tie the game. The right-hander rebounded with back-to-back strikeouts to get out of the frame.

Peoria’s offense plated two more runs on a peculiar play in the second. With runners at first and third, South Bend starter Kohl Franklin uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Ramon Mendoza to trot home. After Cubs catcher Caleb Knight had trouble locating the baseball, Luis Rodriguez rounded second and streaked towards third. Knight’s throw sailed into left field allowing Rodriguez to motor all the way around the bases and give the Chiefs a 3-1 lead.

The fun stopped there for Peoria, however. South Bend scored three times in the home half of the third to take a 4-3 lead. They tacked on three more in the fifth with a two-run blast from Jake Washer serving as the big blow. Dionys Rodriguez was responsible for seven runs over five innings to take the loss.

A sixth inning rally netted a run for Peoria as they ultimately sent the tying-run to the plate. After a Luis Rodriguez single, Carlos Soto doubled him home to make it 7-4. For Soto, it was his second consecutive night with an RBI. After a Tommy Jew walk, Antico stepped in as the tying-run but he popped out to third to end the inning.

The Chiefs got no closer Friday as South Bend scored four more in the sixth to make it an 11-4 game. A seventh inning, two-run homer off the bat of Yohendrick Pinango created the final margin. The 3-4-5 batters in the South Bend order went a combined 8-for-15 with six runs scored and nine RBI’s.

The Chiefs will go for their first win of the second half Saturday when Logan Gragg takes the bump for Peoria. First pitch is set for 7:05 EST/6:05 CST.