Cubs fire back with 9-1 win over Lansing

South Bend, IN: After a disappointing offensive effort in last night's game, the South Bend Cubs bats came alive on Tuesday morning when they plated five runs in the bottom of the 5th inning in a 9-1 win over Lansing.

With arguably their most consistent starter taking the hill in game two of the four game series, the Cubs relied on Javier Assad for much of the matinee as Assad dazzled in 5.2 innings while only giving up a run on three hits. The 20-year-old right hander struck out out seven to shut down the red hot Lugnuts offense.
Assad earned the win and became the pitcher of record after South Bend's big 5th inning where they scored five runs on five walks and two hits. Starter Turner Larkins exited with no outs in the inning and the problem was then on the hands of lefty Brody Rodning.
The new reliever Rodning walked in three runs and then surrendered a two run single to right fielder Brandon Hughes. The switch hitting Hughes picked up his 11th and 12th RBI on the campaign and put the Cubs up 6-1.
South Bend added a run in the 7th and two in the 8th to finish at a score of 9-1. The Cubs bullpen backed up Assad's start with Brendan King and Enrique De Los Rios tossing 3.1 innings of shutout relief giving up a combined five hits. King's ERA falls to 1.86, while De Los Rios goes all the way down to just 1.04.
The win over the first place Lugnuts puts South Bend 10 games back of the division lead. With two more games remaining against Lansing, and a four game series with the West Michigan Whitecaps looming later in the week, South Bend will hope for the consistency of the starting pitching to continue. Assad's start marks 14 times in May that the starting pitcher went at least five innings and gave up less than two runs.
Scheduled to start tomorrow for South Bend is left hander Brendon Little. It will be a matchup of southpaws as Zach Logue will throw for Lansing. First pitch from Four Winds Field is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.