South Bend Offense Relentless Again in 15-7 Rout of Captains

The South Bend Cubs (59-37) steamrolled to another defeat of the Lake County Captains (53-43) on Friday night at Classic Auto Group Park, notching a 15-7 win. The Cubs put multiple runners on base in all nine innings of Friday’s victory, winning their consecutive game against the Captains.

Click here to view Friday’s box score.

The Cubs did the majority of their damage in a nine-run second inning, chasing Lake County starting pitcher Jackson Humphries after he allowed six runs in 1.1 innings. Designated hitter Logan Poteet opened the scoring with an RBI single to left, and center fielder Kane Kepley later rocked a three-home run, his seventh long ball of the season, to right field.

The extra-base hits continued to fly after a pitching change, as right-hander Jervis Alfaro allowed one to all three batters he faced before exiting with an injury. First, left fielder Jose Escobar roped a two-run double to the corner in right. Right fielder Kade Snell then belted a two-run home run, his sixth of the year and fourth of the series, to right. Shortstop Angel Cepeda homered on the very next pitch, going down the left-field line with his fourth High-A home run of the season. The Cubs held a 9-0 lead just an inning and a half into the contest.

Rehabbing right-hander Kohl Franklin made the start for South Bend and did not have the sharpness of previous rehab starts, walking three in 1.2 innings. The Captains got on the board against him in the second, as second baseman Garrett Howe drilled an RBI double to right field. Righty reliever Nate Williams replaced Franklin and stranded the bases loaded to end the second, but the Captains got another run in the third on shortstop Welbyn Francisca’s solo shot to right. In the fourth, Lake County loaded the bases with one out, but Williams struck out back-to-back hitters to maintain his team’s 9-2 lead.

After left-hander Melkys Hernández pitched 3.0 scoreless innings for Lake County, the Cub offense got right back to work in the top of the sixth. Third baseman Matt Halbach homered for the second consecutive game and for the eighth time this season, lacing a solo rocket to left field. Additional runs came home later in the inning, as second baseman Ty Southisene poked a two-run single through the right side. Southisene reached safely six times on Friday, recording three hits for the second consecutive game and walking three times as well.

Despite trailing 12-2, Lake County kept the Cubs on high alert, quickly closing the gap back down to five runs. They scored once in the sixth on a Howe home run to right, then added four runs in the seventh before leaving two runners on. After a Cepeda fielding error allowed the seventh inning’s first run to score, Howe drove in two more on a single up the middle, finishing the night with three hits and four RBI.

South Bend extinguished any dreams of a Lake County comeback in the top of the eighth, grabbing three runs to go ahead 15-7. First baseman Josiah Hartshorn tagged a two-run double to right-center field, and Escobar followed with another RBI double to left for his third of the night. The Cubs finished Friday’s game with 14 hits and 14 walks, as all nine hitters on the lineup card came around to score at least once.

On the mound, left-hander Cole Reynolds wrapped up the game for the Cubs, retiring eight consecutive hitters at the end. Reynolds only allowed one hit across his 2.2 innings, conceding a single unearned run.

Up 3-1 in the series, the Cubs will try to take the set from the Captains at 7:00 PM on Friday, August 1. Right-hander Alfredo Romero is scheduled to pitch for South Bend against Lake County lefty Harrison Bodendorf.