Cubs Crush River Bandits 11-1 in Front of Season-High Crowd of 7,114
South Bend, IN - In front of the largest crowd of the 2026 season so far of 7,114 at Four Winds Field, the South Bend Cubs clobbered the Quad Cities River Bandits 11-1 to win their fourth game of the week, taking this six-game series between the two Midwest League
South Bend, IN - In front of the largest crowd of the 2026 season so far of 7,114 at Four Winds Field, the South Bend Cubs clobbered the Quad Cities River Bandits 11-1 to win their fourth game of the week, taking this six-game series between the two Midwest League West Division rivals. South Bend improved its total record to 44-26, with a 5-3 mark in the second-half.
Top Chicago Cubs pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins was on the mound for South Bend in his second High-A rehab start. Wiggins, who has been on the Injured List since April with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, last pitched Sunday at Fort Wayne. On Saturday, Wiggins faced the team he made his Midwest League debut against back in July of 2024, and spun together 3.2 shutout innings with four strikeouts. Wiggins fired 1-2-3 innings in the 2nd and 3rd, and in the 4th, punched out the final two men he faced. The last fastball he threw topped out at 98 miles-per-hour.
At the plate, South Bend faced Quad Cities righty Blake Wolters, who surrendered eight runs to the Cubs the last time he faced them. South Bend went scoreless in their first time through the lineup against Wolters, but in the bottom of the 3rd, got going thanks to a lead-off walk by Christian Olivo. Immediately, Olivo was driven in by an RBI triple from Kane Kepley. The next batter was Josiah Hartshorn, who knocked in Kepley with a base-hit. Later in the inning, a two-out double by Angel Cepeda led to an RBI single from Jose Escobar, making it 3-0.
The Cubs added another tally in the bottom of the 4th, before scoring four runs in the bottom of the 5th. A pair of two-run home runs gave the Cubs the four tallies, making it 9-0. Escobar, who was on base four times, hammered his third homer with South Bend, and now has 18 RBI in the month of June alone. Three batters later, Drew Bowser walloped his fifth of the year.
Out of the Cubs bullpen, Adam Stone worked 1.1 innings of shutout relief. Stone earned the win, improving to 4-1 on the season. Later, Ethan Flanagan made his second appearance since being activated from the Development List, picking up the four-inning save. While Flanagan was on the mound, the Cubs picked up their final two tallies with one in each of the 6th and 7th innings to end their rallies for the evening.
Quad Cities picked up its lone run when Erick Torres singled in Luke Pelzer in the top of the 9th inning, spoiling the shutout effort.
Wiggins, Stone, and Flanagan together did not walk a single River Bandit in the game, and they combined for nine strikeouts.
With the victory, South Bend already has the series win heading into the finale between the two clubs on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is set for 2:05 PM, with right-hander Alfredo Romero scheduled to start for the Cubs.