TinCaps Hold on to Take Second Half Opener Over Cubs 6-4

South Bend, IN - After decisive victories in the first two games of this series by the Fort Wayne TinCaps, and then the South Bend Cubs on Thursday, there was a feeling around Four Winds Field that we would see a back-and-forth style Friday night contest between the two in-state rivals. Nearly 7000 fans at Four Winds Field received just that, in a winding and weaving battle that finished with Fort Wayne taking a 6-4 victory.

Brandon Birdsell took the ball for the Cubs and was looking for some revenge against the TinCaps after giving up four runs at Parkview Field earlier this month. Fort Wayne came ready to play though in the top of the 1st inning, with three straight base hits by Jackson Merrill, Jakob Marsee, and Marcos Castañon. Two runs came home to score, including one on a sacrifice fly RBI by Nathan Martorella.

It was a 2-0 Fort Wayne lead before the Cubs took their first swing against Bodi Rascon.

Just as we anticipated, however, the Cubs had their first of many answers on the day. First in the bottom of the 2nd, Kevin Alcántara started with a base on balls, and then came home via a Kevin Made RBI double into the right-center field gap. Made had his best day of the homestand so far.

That rally would not keep the momentum on South Bend’s side for long, however. In the top of the 3rd, Castañon hammered a two run home run deep over the left field wall to extend the lead further for the TinCaps. They added one more in the top of the 5th and had the 5-1 advantage in the middle innings.

After Birdsell departed, Tyler Santana was the first man out of the bullpen for South Bend, and he gave the Cubs 2.2 strong innings with only one run allowed. South Bend would begin to chip away in the bottom of the 5th, with Made drawing a walk, Felix Stevens doubling, and Ethan Hearn reaching on an error. It was a simple play that resulted in the Fort Wayne miscue.

Hearn was at the plate against the lefty Rascon, and he dribbled a ball back to the mound. Rascon fielded his position on the third base side, where his momentum took him. He bobbled the little tapper ground ball, and everybody was safe as Made scored.

South Bend got another tally in the bottom of the 7th when Hearn produced an RBI following Made’s second double of the game. Hearn pulled a ball through the hole at first base, and South Bend was within a pair.

For the next two innings, the two clubs exchanged that same run twice. Joshua Mears earned it back for the TinCaps with a 430 foot home run blast over the Tiki Hut in left. But the Cubs swiped it in return with an Alcántara base knock.

Still down two runs in the 9th, South Bend brought the tying run to the plate, but Fort Wayne held on and right-hander Nick Thwaits recorded the save.

The crowd of nearly 7000 saw a good one, but the Cubs dropped the first game of the Midwest League’s second half. The two teams will do it again on Saturday night at 7:05 PM, with South Bend sending right-hander Connor Noland to the mound. The game will be aired live on Marquee Sports Network.