Chiefs Claim First Win, Split Doubleheader

SOUTH BEND, IN – After falling in game one of Saturday’s doubleheader by a final score of 4-2, the Chiefs earned their first win of the season by doubling up the South Bend Cubs 4-2 in the nightcap. With the win, Peoria snapped a seven-game slide to open the season.

GAME ONE:

For the fourth straight game in South Bend, the Chiefs were the first to strike. In the third inning, Michael Curialle and Jon Jon Gazdar started the inning with back-to-back singles. With runners on the corners and no outs, Ryan Campos grounded into a fielder’s choice that scored Curialle and gave Peoria a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom half of the third inning, the Cubs responded. With two outs and nobody on, Chiefs starter Cade Winquest had worked through the Cubs’ lineup once, allowing just one baserunner. Facing the top of the order for a second time, Cristian Hernandez singled to center, Andy Garriola was hit by a pitch, and Ivan Brethowr followed with a sharp ground ball single to center that scored Hernandez and moved Garriola to second, tying the game at one. Drew Bowser then walked to load the bases. Before Edgar Alvarez saw a pitch, a balk was called on Winquest, allowing Garriola to score and give South Bend a 2-1 lead. Winquest bounced back and struck out Alvarez to end the inning and leave the bases loaded.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Cubs added to their lead after the Chiefs turned to the bullpen. Right-hander Zack Showalter retired the first two batters but then ran into trouble. He walked Carter Trice, who stole second. A walk to Reivaj Garcia and a wild pitch put runners on the corners. Trice came home on another wild pitch to make it 3-1. Hernandez then doubled to left, scoring Garcia and pushing the lead to 4-1.

The Chiefs chipped away in the top of the fifth inning. After left-hander Angel Hernandez recorded the first out, Jon Jon Gazdar singled, and a throwing error on a pickoff attempt allowed him to move to second. Ryan Campos drew a walk, bringing Ian Petrutz to the plate. Petrutz delivered a single to right field, scoring Gazdar and cutting the deficit to 4-2. Zach Levenson followed and saw a wild pitch during his at-bat, which advanced both runners to second and third. Levenson then grounded to third, and Reivaj Garcia threw home to get Campos at the plate for the second out. With runners on first and second, Joshua Baez struck out to end the threat.

In the seventh inning, Peoria got the leadoff man aboard, bringing the tying run to the plate, but could not push across any runs and fell 4-2.

*Game Two:
*The Peoria Chiefs earned their first win of the season behind a strong pitching performance, defeating South Bend 4-2 on Saturday.

Right-handed pitchers Jose Davila and Angel Gonzalez combined for seven solid innings, allowing only four hits and two runs to lead the Chiefs to their first victory of the 2025 season. Davila got the start and gave up just one run over five innings, while Gonzalez, a former Cubs farmhand, took over in the sixth and seventh to earn his first save of the year.

The Chiefs jumped out to an early lead once again after a leadoff single to right field by Miguel Villarroel. Villarroel then stole second, and the next batter, Ian Petrutz, singled to center to drive him in and give Peoria a 1-0 lead.

In the fourth inning, the Chiefs added to their lead after a one-out double to right by Miguel Ugueto. Two batters later, with two outs, a single into right field by Trey Paige scored Ugueto to make it 2-0.

The Cubs cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the fourth inning. Ivan Brethowr led off with a double to right field and advanced to third on a stolen base. After a walk to Brian Kalmer put runners on the corners with no outs, Arial Armas hit a ground ball to short that brought home Brethowr and made it 2-1.

The Chiefs responded in the top of the fifth inning. Back-to-back singles by Jon Jon Gazdar and Miguel Villarroel put runners on base to start the inning. A balk moved both runners to second and third. With one out, Zach Levenson lined a single into center field, scoring both runners to extend the lead to 4-1.

South Bend scored again in the bottom of the seventh inning. A single to left field by Reginald Preciado brought in a run and cut the lead to 4-2, bringing the tying run to the plate in David Avitia with two outs. Gonzalez was able to retire Avitia on a pop out to end the game and secure the Chiefs’ first win of the season.

The Chiefs will look for their second straight win on Sunday at Four Winds Field, where right-hander Hancel Rincon is scheduled to make his second start of the series. First pitch is set for 1:05 PM CDT.