Cubs Fall in Extras to ‘Bandits 3-2

Davenport, IA - For a second straight game on Opening Weekend in the Quad Cities, the South Bend Cubs jumped out to an early lead. But for the first time, the Quad Cities River Bandits mounted a full comeback. Extra innings were required for game two of the three-game set, and the ‘Bandits evened up the series at a game apiece, with a 3-2 victory.

Much like Friday, it was Jefferson Rojas breaking the game open for South Bend. The 18-year-old shortstop is showing no signs of being brand new to High-A baseball, as an RBI single in the top of the 3rd inning plated Ethan Hearn for a 1-0 lead.

Rojas has two RBI through his first two Midwest League games. The base hit also gave starter Grant Kipp some run support, after he posted zeroes in the first two innings. Quad Cities had an immediate response, however, with two runs in the bottom half of the third. After two hits on Friday, Carter Jensen’s two-run knock gave the River Bandits their first lead of the series.

The Cubs would not stay down for long, as it was first baseman Jonathon Long tying the game in the top of the 5th. It was not a day for fly balls, with the wind blowing in off the Mississippi River, but Long’s right field drive went off the bottom of the outfield wall. The play was ruled an error on right fielder Jared Dickey. Thus, no RBI for Long. But, the game was tied after five frames.

As the night got colder, and the wind got fiercer, the bullpens did their job and locked things down. Right-hander Sam Armstrong made his South Bend Cubs debut with two shutout innings. Of seven batters faced, he struck out five.

Hunter Viets also made not only his Cubs organization debut, but also Minor League Baseball first appearance. He added two strikeouts in two shutout frames to carry the game to the late innings.

Quad Cities had an opportunity to win the game in the bottom of the 9th with the winning run at second base, but Yovanny Cabrera locked things down to force extras.

In the 10th, South Bend put runners at second and third base, after the automatic courtesy runner began the inning. The Cubs failed to score, and the River Bandits took their turn.

Jensen was the automatic runner for the home side, and three consecutive walks plated the winning run.

With the win, the River Bandits are in the ‘W’ column for the first time in 2024, and the two teams will play a series deciding rubber game Sunday afternoon at 2:00 PM EST. Right-hander Tyler Schlaffer will pitch for the first time since 2022 in the series finale.