West Michigan Walks-Off Cubs in 10th 4-3

Comstock Park, MI - The South Bend Cubs entered the 10th inning on Wednesday night at LMCU Ballpark with a 3-1 lead in an opportunity to even this week’s series against the West Michigan Whitecaps. Trailing for most of the game prior, South Bend had just taken their first lead, but the Whitecaps had the final decisive blow of the night. They defeated and walked-off the Cubs in a 4-3 final to win back-to-back games to begin the week.

Wednesday’s game between the old Midwest League rivals started as a pitchers’ duel. Troy Melton took the ball for West Michigan against South Bend’s Connor Noland. Both hurlers fired two clean innings to start the night, and Melton’s only loss of the season came against South Bend in July. Noland lost to the Whitecaps in that same month, but worked five innings that day with only one earned run allowed.

Melton was dominant through six shutout innings, where he did not walk a batter, and also struck out one. He pitched with the lead, but in narrow fashion as the Whitecaps got on the board first in the bottom of the 3rd. Austin Murr smacked a triple with two outs against Noland, and then Carlos Mendoza drove him in on a run scoring single.

For Noland, that would be the lone offense he surrendered, as he finished with five innings of one run baseball and five strikeouts. Both starters took a no-decision.

Out of the Cubs bullpen, Angel Gonzalez looked sharp in a 1-2-3 6th inning with two strikeouts. Derek Casey then entered for the Cubs in the 7th, and ended up working two shutout innings. However, Casey stranded five total men on base with the Whitecaps leaving runners at 2nd and 3rd in the 7th, and then the bases loaded in the 8th.

That set up for South Bend to ultimately tie the game. Felix Stevens led off the top of the 8th with his ninth home run since joining the South Bend Cubs. Stevens rocketed a ball way out of the park over the right-center field wall to tie things at 1-1.

After both clubs went scoreless in the 9th, the game went to extras. South Bend would deal a big blow in the top of the 10th. Christian Franklin pinch-ran at second base, and Stevens came up to start the 10th and drove him in on a single, taking a 2-1 lead.

Later, Josh Rivera reached on an error, Luis Verdugo walked, and then Ezequiel Pagan knocked in a key run of insurance to lead 3-1.

Heading to the bottom of the 10th, Yovanny Cruz continued on the mound into his second inning of work. Mendoza started as the automatic runner, Brady Allen singled, and so did Gage Workman. Andrew Jenkins walked, and Eliezer Alfonzo tied the game on an RBI sac fly.

After a Josh Crouch walk, Dom Johnson came up with the bases loaded. To end the game with a 3-2 count, Johnson was hit by a pitch, as it was also ball-four, and West Michigan completed the comeback.

With the defeat, South Bend is 18-24 in the second half, and will look to get back in the win column in Thursday night’s game in West Michigan at 6:35 PM. Grant Kipp will make his second Midwest League start. Of note, Chicago Cubs first-round pick Matt Shaw extended his hitting streak to eight games with a single in the 9th on Wednesday. He has also been on base for nine games in a row.