Bats go quiet as Cubs drop finale to Lansing 12-2

Lansing, MI: After scoring seven runs in one inning last night, the South Bend Cubs saw their bats go quiet in the series finale on Friday night. In a 12-2 final, Lansing took two out of three games from South Bend to jump back within two games of the wild card held by the Cubs.

South Bend scored the game's first run on Friday with an RBI single from Jake Slaughter in the top of the 3rd inning. Slaughter was the lone Cub to pick up multiple hits in the game.
With a 1-0 lead, Derek Casey took the mound for his third inning after working two consecutive scoreless. His best inning of the night was a quick 1-2-3 frame to get out of the bottom of the 2nd.
That's when the Lansing bats came alive. The Lugnuts plated six runs between the 3rd and 4th innings and then had a monster five-run bottom of the 6th to lead 11-2. Casey took the loss after giving up six runs in 3.2 innings pitched with one strikeout. Out of the bullpen, Fauris Guerrero allowed five runs, while Sean Barry surrendered one.
After going hitless in the first two games of the series, Lugnuts slugger Griffin Conine picked up two hits and was on base four times in the game. In his Midwest League debut, Lansing first baseman Yorman Rodriguez had four hits and three RBI.
The Cubs will look to respond from the series loss tomorrow night when they return home to Four Winds Field to take on the Fort Wayne TinCaps. South Bend still holds a playoff position by two games over Lansing. Right-hander Riley Thompson is the expected starter for South Bend.