South Bend Blanks Chiefs to Sweep Series

South Bend, IN – The South Bend Cubs used five pitchers to combine on a two-hit shutout as they beat the Chiefs 2-0 Sunday. Peoria lost their sixth in a row and are now three games under .500 for the first time this season.

Gordon Graceffo was on the mound Sunday as he made his second start against South Bend this week. The league’s leader in ERA cruised through his first three innings of work as both teams traded zeroes early.

In the bottom of the fourth, South Bend provided resistance against Graceffo as the first two batters reached in the frame. With one out in the inning, Graceffo picked Yohendrick Pinango off of second base. With two outs in the frame, Aaron Antonini then caught Bradlee Beesley trying to steal second to get out of the mini jam.

After a scoreless fifth, South Bend finally broke a scoreless tie in the sixth. Pablo Aliendo doubled down the left field line to score Jordan Nwogu from first. Later in the inning, a groundout resulted in a second run driven in.

The Peoria offense struggled to mount anything in the series finale but they made things interesting in the ninth thanks to three walks from Cubs hurler Jeremiah Estrada. However, he rebounded by striking out Mack Chambers with the bases loaded to end the contest.

The Chiefs are off on Monday. They will return home on Tuesday when they host division-leading Cedar Rapids.