Trice Homers Twice, Dragons Get Past Cubs 7-4

Dayton, OH - The South Bend Cubs couldn’t make it three in a row over the Dayton Dragons on Thursday night at Day Air Ballpark. After coming back to beat Dayton on the first two nights of this six-game series, another early lead for the Dragons proved to be too much to overcome as Dayton defeated South Bend 7-4.

Dayton has scored first in every game this series, and after a shutout 1st inning by Cubs starter Kevin Valdez, making his Midwest League debut, the Dragons capitalized on three key errors made by South Bend in the subsequent two innings.

Anthony Stephan and Carter Grahm started the bottom of the 2nd inning with a pair of singles, and then an error made by the Cubs led to the first run of the game scored by the Dragons. Later, Ariel Almonte knocked in the second run of the frame via an RBI-groundout, and then John Michael Faile singled to center field, making it 3-0.

The Cubs earned one of the three runs back, thanks to a Brian Kalmer triple in the top of the 3rd, and then an RBI sacrifice-fly hit by Drew Bowser. The teams would play hot potato with that run though, as Dayton swiped it back in the bottom of the 3rd thanks to the second and third South Bend errors of the evening. Of the four runs that Valdez surrendered in his first High-A start, all were unearned.

The middle innings were defined by the power strokes of Carter Trice. Hammering a solo home run in the top of the 4th, that got it back to a 4-2 deficit. In the top of the 6th, Trice did it again with a two-run blast, tying the game at 4-4. It was the 12th and 13th home runs of the season for Trice, and he now has the 2025 South Bend team-lead for homers.

Tied at 4-4, Dayton had another immediate answer, scoring three runs in the bottom of the 6th inning against lefty Cole Reynolds. The southpaw made his Midwest League debut tonight, and the Dragons three runs came on four hits, including a two-run homer by Faile.

It was 7-4 heading to the late innings, and Dayton’s bullpen capped off the rest of the night. Out of the Cub bullpen, righty Jackson Kirkpatrick tossed a pair of perfect innings in the 8th and 9th, keeping things close.

Even with the loss, the Cubs will remain 2.5 games back of the second-half playoff spot in the West Division because of a loss by first-place Beloit. South Bend and Dayton will get together again on Friday night, with first pitch set for 7:05 PM. Right-hander Brooks Caple will make the start for the Cubs.