Loons Fall in South Bend Opener after Climbing Out of First-Inning Hole

Before the first out was recorded in the bottom of the first inning Tuesday night, the South Bend Cubs had put five men on base with three walks and two doubles. Four of those runners would score in the first frame.

The Great Lakes Loons were down 4-0 before their second trip to the plate at Four Winds Field at Coveleski Stadium in South Bend, Ind.

Despite that, the visitors fought back, scoring a run in the second inning and three in the fourth to tie the game at four.

After that, though, the Loons were held scoreless while the Cubs plated two in the eighth to win the series opener, 6-4.

South Bend (24-16) scored four in the first inning as described above. Loons starter Emmet Sheehan did not record an out against the five batters he faced, allowing three to reach on walks and two to double. Cole Percival came in after that and did not allow a baserunner of his own in the opening frame, but allowed one inherited runner to score, and the Loons trailed 4-0.

Great Lakes (23-17) struck back with a run in the second inning. Ryan January reached on a walk, Leonel Valera reached on an error, and Imanol Vargas singled to load the bases with nobody out. A wild pitch then advanced all runners one base, allowing January to score. Right-handed Cubs starter Daniel Palencia then collected the next three outs in order to retire the side and strand two runners. That was the lone run that scored against Palencia, who tossed three innings of one-hit baseball. He walked two and struck out three.

The Loons, High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, continued to see success from Percival. The right-hander from UC Riverside threw five innings in total, coming into the game without an out in the first frame, and allowed just three hits without walking a batter. He collected three punchouts while keeping the Cubs off the board.

The visitors would score three more runs in the fourth inning off of southpaw reliever Riley Martin. With one out, Martin hit two batters, then Edwin Mateo singled to load the bases. Aldrich De Jongh notched a bloop hit into right field, scoring just a run. After that, Jonny Deluca missed a grand slam by a matter of inches, yet was held to just a single on a hit that ricocheted off the very top of the left-center field wall. One run scored, and the bases remained loaded for Eddys Leonard, who walked to drive in a run. That tied the game at four before an inning-ending double play.

South Bend, the Chicago Cubs’ High-A partner, saw great relief work after that. Martin stayed in for two scoreless frames, then gave the ball to Eduarniel Nunez (W, 5-1). Nunez tossed two perfect innings of work, striking out a pair of Loons.

Meanwhile, the Loons had great relief work as well, namely from Braydon Fisher. The 21-year-old right-hander tossed two innings of scoreless baseball, walking one and allowing one hit while recording strikeouts for five of his six batters retired.

In the eighth, though, the Cubs finally broke through. Antonio Knowles (L, 2-3) walked two of the first three batters he faced before Fabian Pertuz drove them both in with a double to put South Bend ahead by the score that would become the final, 6-4.

The Loons drew a leadoff walk in the ninth inning, but couldn’t make any more noise against Hunter Bigge (SV, 4), who sat down the next three hitters on batted balls.

In the game, the Loons only mustered four hits, but had many more baserunners thanks to five South Bend walks, two errors, and four batters hit by pitches. Great Lakes and South Bend both stranded eight runners aboard.

The Cubs take a 1-0 lead in this six-game set, the only series between these two squads this season. Great Lakes and South Bend square off again Wednesday from “The Cove” in South Bend, Ind., at 11:05 a.m. The Loons toss right-hander Kyle Hurt (2-0, 2.30 ERA), facing off against the Cubs’ first-round draft pick in 2021, southpaw Jordan Wicks (0-0, 3.86 ERA). Pregame coverage begins on ESPN 100.9-FM with the Loons On-Deck Circle, driven by Garber Chevrolet Midland, at 10:50 a.m.

The Great Lakes Loons have been a Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since the team’s inception in 2007. Dow Diamond serves as the team’s home and also houses the Michigan Baseball Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity, and ESPN 100.9-FM. For tickets or information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.