Errors cost Cubs in 5-2 defeat to Wisconsin

South Bend, IN: The South Bend Cubs learned the hard way on Saturday night that early errors can come back to beat you in a close game.  

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers capitalized quickly on three errors made in the early innings by South Bend. Two immediately came back to bite the Cubs in the top of the 1^st. With lefty Brendon Little on the mound, who was coming off his best start in a Cub uniform, he quickly retired the first two batters of the frame. 
But then back-to-back errors made by second baseman Rafael Narea scored two Wisconsin runs to crack open the game. Little finished the inning with both runs being unearned. The Cubs quickly countered with a run in the bottom of the 1^st inning to cut the lead in half. 
Michael Cruz finished with South Bend's only two RBI of the day with his first coming on a double scoring Christian Donahue early on. But the Cubs comeback effort was cut short by another Wisconsin rally. 
The Timber Rattlers scored a combined three runs in the 4^th and 5^th innings off of Little. Even with the five runs allowed, Little's stuff looked good with six strikeouts. The southpaw mixed the fastball, curveball, and changeup skillfully to fool a large amount of Wisconsin hitters. 
Out of the bullpen, Manuel Rodriguez and Garrett Kelly worked a combined four scoreless innings. Overall, Cubs pitching struck out 12 batters overall in the series opener loss. 
South Bend schemed a rally in the bottom of the 9^th. Starting with 2018 Chicago Cubs first round pick Nico Hoerner, the Cubs gained plenty of momentum in the final frame. Cruz drove in his second RBI on a single to cut the lead to 5-2. 
With two runners on and the tying run at the plate, Austin Filiere struck out to end the contest against right hander Michael Petersen. Wisconsin ended game one with a final of 5-2. 
The Cubs will have the opportunity to bounce back quickly with game two right around the corner at 2:05 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. With an overall record at 46-46, South Bend will send trusty left hander Ricky Tyler Thomas to the mound for the matinee on Sunday.