Bethencourt's big night leads South Bend to 5th straight win

Eastlake, OH: With a four game sweep over the Bowling Green Hot Rods behind them, the South Bend Cubs turned their attention to a six game road trip starting tonight against the Lake County Captains. They continued their hot stretch by beating the Captains 6-5 for their fifth win in a row.

Before yesterday, the Cubs had struggled to receive consistent quality innings from their starting rotation. But after yesterday's five innings of no-hit baseball from Ricky Tyler Thomas, South Bend sent Javier Assad to the mound for his second start of the season.
Assad gave the Cubs another strong performance on the mound by giving them a chance to win, pitching four innings and allowing two runs on the night.
The Cubs got off to a roaring start in the first game of three against Lake County with five runs in the first three innings. Once again, the middle of the lineup was strong for South Bend. A 4-5 day from third baseman Jhonny Bethencourt and a 2-4 outing from designated hitter Michael Cruz led the Cubs to another victory. Bethencourt scored three of the Cubs six runs on the night.
During the game, outfielder Chris Carrier was hit in the helmet by a pitch thrown by Lake County starter Grant Hockin. Carrier left the field under his own power, but was replaced in left field by Zach Davis. For the remainder of the night, Davis went 1-2 in the game.
After Assad departed the game after four innings, right hander Bailey Clark came in for his third outing of the season. Clark ultimately earned the win for the Cubs, giving him his first decision of the season. Brian Glowicki shut things down in the 9th inning for South Bend while earning his second save of the season.
Glowicki was put in a tough jam with two outs in the 9th inning. With the bases loaded full of Lake County Captains, Glowicki struck out Jorma Rodriguez to end the game and to leave the bases loaded with the game winning run on second base.
With the win, the Cubs record improves to 6-2 on the season. In the midst of a six game road trip, the Cubs will be back in action tomorrow night to face the Captains in game two of the series at 4:00 p.m. Erich Uelmen is scheduled to start for South Bend.