Cubs Break Through Late, Beat West Michigan 3-1
The South Bend Cubs (21-16) evened their series against the West Michigan Whitecaps (14-27) on Wednesday afternoon at LMCU Ballpark, winning 3-1. After being practically nonexistent through seven innings, the Cubs’ offense showed up at the right time, scoring two runs in the eighth and another in the ninth to
The South Bend Cubs (21-16) evened their series against the West Michigan Whitecaps (14-27) on Wednesday afternoon at LMCU Ballpark, winning 3-1. After being practically nonexistent through seven innings, the Cubs’ offense showed up at the right time, scoring two runs in the eighth and another in the ninth to flip the game.
Click here to view Wednesday’s box score.
For the Cubs, right-hander Alfredo Romero made his first High-A start on Wednesday, faring well across 3.2 innings. Romero allowed a single run while striking out a season-high six, making a promising introduction to the South Bend rotation.
The one run Romero allowed ended up making a big difference early on, and it resulted from a two-out rally in the fourth inning. With the bases empty, left fielder Andrew Sojka popped up a double just beyond the reach of South Bend right fielder Leonel Espinoza. Catcher Luke Shliger later singled Sojka home, breaking the scoreless tie and ending Romero’s day.
After Romero’s departure, the Cubs stayed close in the game thanks to the work of their bullpen, which contributed 5.1 scoreless innings. Right-hander Nate Williams led off with an excellent performance, inheriting runners on the corners in the fourth inning and allowing neither one to score. He’d go on to punch out four across 2.1 frames, setting up lefty Jackson Brockett to follow with three more shutout innings to close out the game.
The Cubs took the lead during Brockett’s appearance, as the Whitecaps had shut them down throughout the first part of the game. West Michigan starting pitcher Ben Jacobs spun four hitless innings, and righty reliever Duque Hebbert followed with two shutout frames. All told, Whitecap pitching faced the minimum through the first seven innings, as the only two Cubs to reach base were picked off.
South Bend finally got going against West Michigan right-handers Logan Berrier and Luke Stofel, plating three across the final two innings. In the Cubs’ two-run eighth, left fielder Kade Snell and third baseman Alex Madera each walked, setting up catcher Miguel Useche in a big spot. Useche tied the game for sure with his single to left field, a hit that ended up securing the lead as Sojka overran the ball and made an error.
Another Cub run crossed home in the ninth, as center fielder Kane Kepley led off with a walk to achieve a 17-game on-base streak. First baseman Cameron Sisneros later pushed his own on-base streak to 17 games, ripping a single to score Kepley and bring the game to its final score.
With the series tied after West Michigan’s 6-4 win on Tuesday, the Cubs and Whitecaps will meet again at 6:35 PM on Thursday, May 21. The scheduled starting pitchers are left-hander Ethan Flanagan for South Bend and right-hander Lucas Elissalt for West Michigan.