Stevens Clubs 1st South Bend Homer, Cubs Cap 1st Half with Win

SOUTH BEND, IN - Felix Stevens broke a 1-1 tie in the fourth inning with a two-run blast to left that catapulted the Cubs back into the lead for good as South Bend won the final game of the first half of the season, 5-1.

The homer for Stevens was his 14th on the season and the first in High-A since his promotion on Tuesday.

Cade Horton started for the Cubs and started the game by striking out the side, which he's now done three starts in a row. The last 11 outs he's recorded in first innings have all been strikeouts. Tonight he struck out the first two batters on six pitches and then went 0-and-2 on Marcos Castañon. Horton delivered a pitch needing a strikeout to get an immaculate inning, but Castañon singled to left.

South Bend's bats came out hot against Ryan Bergert in the first inning. Jacob Wetzel smacked an opposite-field double one batter into Bergert's night, Kevin Made followed with a walk, and with one out Yohendrick Pinango sent a high sac-fly to right field.

Horton got unlucky in the third when the TinCaps came back to tie it. He allowed an infield single up the third base line to Juan Zabala with one out to start the rally. Zabala was in motion a few pitches later and Jackson Merrill hit a hard grounder up the middle off the mound that, with Made going to cover the bag, skipped behind him into center. Had Zabala not been off on the pitch home it probably would've gone as a double play to end the inning. The hit sent Zabala to third and with Castañon at the plate, Merrill then swiped to second, while Zabala scored on the errant throw to second from Moises Ballesteros.

Stevens propelled the Cubs ahead and Lance Rymel's squad added two insurance runs in the eighth. Ballesteros reached for the fourth time on the night to begin the inning, smoking a double up the third base line. With one out Hearn single to center to put runners at the corners. This time the Cubs would manufacture some offense on the basepaths. Hearn swiped second base and the throw down from Colton Bender skipped into center, scoring Ballesteros. Fabian Pertuz grounded a ball back to the mound, Adam Smith fielded it, but his throw to first pulled Nathan Martorella off the bag and Hearn scampered home.

Didier Vargas tossed two scoreless innings in relief and Frankie Scalzo Jr. followed suit with two scoreless of his own. Cade Horton picked up his second pro win, with both coming in his last two home starts.

With the win the Cubs finished the first half with a record of 30-35. The second half of the season and the charge for another magical postseason run begins again tomorrow.

In the third inning of the game the benches cleared and Yohendrick Pinango and Juan Zabala were both ejected. Pinango struck out swinging to end the inning and both teams left the field. But then the umps got together and said it was a foul ball. Pinango stepped back into the box, fouled away the next pitch and exchanged words with the TinCaps catcher, Zabala. Bergert then hit Pinango with a slider. That's when Zabala and Pinango started going at it and the benches cleared.