Cubs take series against Dayton with 5-2 victory

Dayton, OH: A three game winning streak could not have come at a better time for the South Bend Cubs. After missing a playoff berth in the first half, they have opened half number two with three straight wins over the Dayton Dragons. On Saturday night, they won the series with a 5-2 game three victory.

Just as they have done in every other game of the series, South Bend opened the scoring with a run in the top of the 2nd inning.
With Brandon Hughes in scoring position, Cam Balego came to the plate for his first at-bat since being promoted from the Eugene Emeralds. With his first hit and RBI as a South Bend Cub, Balego brought in Hughes to plate South Bend's first run. But just as they have been all series, Dayton was resilient. Jeter Downs tied the game in the bottom of the 3rd with a solo home run off of starter Rollie Lacy.
After a quiet few innings, the Cubs got back on the right track against Dragons starter Tyler Mondile. Between innings six and nine, they scored four runs to eventually take the 5-2 lead.
Even with the early leads, the Cubs needed numerous reinforcements in order to win Saturday night's game. Shortstop Jhonny Bethencourt went down with an injury in the bottom of the 5th inning. He needed to leave the game, so Austin Filiere was inserted into the lineup. Filiere, however, is a third baseman. Manager Jimmy Gonzalez decided to switch around the infield by putting Filiere at third base, Delvin Zinn and shortstop, and Balego at second base.
Filiere came to the plate for three at-bats after being inserted into the order and had three hits, including a double.
The defensive switch did not phase the Cubs as they did not allow a run after the 6th inning. After Lacy fired five innings of one run baseball, Manuel Rondon, Yapson Gomez, and Brian Glowicki did the rest and lead South Bend to their 37th overall win.
Glowicki pitched a scoreless 9th inning to pick up his 13th save this season. He now leapfrogs John Ghyzel of Dayton for the Midwest League lead in saves. Ghyzel pitched tonight as well, but allowed a run over two innings.
South Bend will shoot for the series sweep tomorrow afternoon when they face the Dragons one final time before heading home. Right hander Erling Moreno is set to make his 2018 South Bend debut as the starting pitcher tomorrow. First pitch is set for 2:00 p.m. ET.