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MWL South Bend Cubs

7th Inning Heroics Lead Cubs to 3-1 Win

September 9, 2023 - Midwest League (MWL)
South Bend Cubs News Release


South Bend, IN - After the South Bend Cubs put together 43 runs in three games to open this series against the Quad Cities River Bandits, it took them until the 7th inning on Friday night to pick up their first tallies of the night. But a big conclusion to Game 4 of the series gave the Cubs a 3-1 victory.

Nick Hull took the ball for the Cubs on the mound in his first start with the team, and at Four Winds Field. Hull has consistently been a reliable right-hander out of the Cubs bullpen in his month with the team.

He was opposed by right-hander Ben Kudrna, the Kansas City Royals number-three prospect. Both starters hung zeroes in their 1st inning, but the River Bandits manufactured the first run of the game in the 2nd on a Herard Gonzalez RBI sac-fly. The 1-0 score held all the way until the late innings.

A lot of that is because of the performance of Kudrna, but also the South Bend Cubs bullpen. Kudrna worked six shutout innings, and returned for the 7th, which ultimately would knock him out of the game.

The Cubs bullpen was led first by Johzan Oquendo, who walked two batters mixed between two innings. Otherwise, he allowed no hits, no runs, and struck out four.

Adam Laskey also made his return to South Bend and earned the win in 1.2 scoreless frames.

The 7th inning came along as South Bend was behind 1-0. In the frame, it started with back-to-back walks to Christian Franklin and Luis Verdugo against the Quad Cities starter.

After a pop-out, Josh Rivera pounded a hard hit ground ball to shortstop, and shortstop Dustin Dickerson made a key error. What could've ended the inning for QC, resulted in Franklin scoring and making it 1-1.

Quad Cities then made a pitching change, and Jacob Wetzel stepped up against Chase Wallace. They were playing the shortstop up the middle, and Wetzel hit it to the left side where no defender was, and a double gave the Cubs their first lead.

The next batter was Liam Spence, who hit a floater base hit up the right field line to score the third run.

In the 8th, the River Bandits had runners at second and third base, but Sheldon Reed struck out Shervyn Newton to cap off the inning. Reed would finish off the four-out save, and the Cubs defeated the Bandits 3-1.

The Cubs have won three of the first four games this week, and now head into the final two games of 2023. Luis Devers is scheduled to make the start tomorrow night on a Saturday from Four Winds Field at 7:05 PM.

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Midwest League Stories from September 9, 2023


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