Morel Smacks Four Hits as Sky Carp Defeat Cubs 19-4

Beloit, WI - Game two of six between the South Bend Cubs and Beloit Sky Carp at ABC Supply Stadium in Wisconsin, much like game one, had a certain unusualness about it. Beloit won the game early on Wednesday by a final of 19-4. Big rallies, innings, and moments have defined the series so far, and Beloit has won the first two.

Wednesday started with a primetime pitching match-up of South Bend’s Will Sanders against Beloit’s Jacob Miller. Both right-handers are top-30 prospects in their respective organizations, and Sanders just got inserted as the Chicago Cubs number-30 overall prospect following the graduation of left-hander Luke Little.

South Bend got off to a good start against the 20-year-old Miller, while loading up the bases in the 1st inning. Miller managed a Houdini-like escape from the frame, and got out of it with no damage.

For Sanders, he went two innings in his first professional start last week against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Pitching today versus Beloit, he spun together a 1-2-3 bottom of the 1st inning, including a strikeout of the first man he faced in Mark Coley II.

Miller was able to lock in on the mound and finished with 4.1 innings of one-run baseball. The Miami Marlins number-12 overall prospect struck out five in his second High-A start.

Tuesday afternoon, Beloit scored five runs in two separate innings alone. The big rallies continued on Wednesday, with six runs in the 2nd, four in the 3rd and six more min the 8th. Of note, the second six-run inning from the bottom of the 8th was when position player Fabian Pertuz was pitching.

The Sky Carp hit six home runs in the game. They also have eight in the series. In the first nine games of the campaign, South Bend’s pitching staff surrendered just two home runs.

At the plate, Rafael Morel tied Jefferson Rojas for the most hits by a South Bend Cub so far on the season in a single game with four. Morel is now hitting .400 on the season. Rojas also extended his hitting streak to six games with a base hit and RBI.

Yohendrick Pinango saw his five-game hit streak end, but with a walk, his on-base streak continues to six straight. Casey Opitz also crushed his second home run of the season, which got South Bend on the board.

Out of the bullpen, Chase Watkins pitches 2.2 innings of one-run baseball. The big lefty did not walk a batter, and struck out four.

South Bend will look for their first victory of the series when the two teams play their first night game of the week Thursday evening at 7:35 PM ET. Right-hander Sam Armstrong is the scheduled starter for the Cubs.