Captains Conquer Cubs 10-2 in Series Opener
June 17, 2025 - Midwest League (MWL)
South Bend Cubs News Release
South Bend, IN - The South Bend Cubs (22-42) dropped their series opener to the Lake County Captains (34-30) by a 10-2 score on Tuesday at Four Winds Field. All nine Lake County hitters reached base at least once, as the Captains improved to 8-2 in their last 10 games with the season's first half winding down. They led from wire to wire on Tuesday night, posting 11 hits and scoring in six of the contest's nine innings.
Both teams entered the game playing well, Lake County having won seven of its last nine games and South Bend on a 6-1 run. The Captains took the upper hand early, forcing South Bend starting pitcher Brooks Caple to throw 27 pitches in the first inning. During that frame, left fielder Ralphy Velazquez launched a two-run home run, his ninth of the season. Velazquez would pick up another RBI in the third inning, lifting a sacrifice fly to right field. Caple wrapped up his outing after four innings, as Lake County took a 4-0 lead in the fourth on second baseman Christian Knapczyk's second single of the night.
Meanwhile, South Bend had opportunities early on against Lake County left-hander Jackson Humphries but couldn't cash in. In the second, designated hitter Cameron Sisneros doubled in his first High-A at bat, helping the Cubs put runners on the corners with two outs. However, third baseman Reginald Preciado flied out to right field, keeping the Cubs scoreless. They threatened again with two runners on base in the third, but left fielder Andy Garriola went down looking for the third out.
Although Lake County designated hitter Wuilfredo Antunez launched another solo home run, his eighth of the season, in the fifth inning, the Cubs found some momentum in the middle part of the game. Two South Bend runs scored in the bottom of the fifth, as second baseman James Triantos blistered an RBI double to put the Cubs on the board. Triantos, a 2023 South Bend Cub, was back at Four Winds Field on a rehab assignment from Triple-A Iowa. He finished the evening with two hits and scored the second Cubs run on a groundout from shortstop Jefferson Rojas.
Right-hander Luis Rujano delivered a shutdown inning for South Bend in the top of the sixth, striking out two to keep the Cubs within a 5-2 score. Sisneros then gave the Cubs a chance to keep building, leading off the bottom of the sixth with his second double of the game. Lake County reliever Izaak Martinez kept the Cubs off the board, too, receiving some help from the outfielders behind him on a couple of running catches.
Lake County would pull away in the game's final third, tagging South Bend righty Vince Reilly for a pair of runs in the seventh inning. Velazquez and Antunez, who each had homered earlier in the game, went back to back with triples, pushing the Captains into a 7-2 lead. After right-hander Brayden Risedorph stranded the bases loaded in the eighth, Lake County plated three more runs against lefty Evan Taylor in the ninth.
For South Bend, center fielder Carter Trice scored a run and extended his team-leading on-base streak to 14 games. Catcher Ariel Armas joined Triantos and Sisneros in posting a multi-hit game. The Cubs and Captains will return to action at 7:05 PM on Wednesday, with South Bend scheduled to throw right-hander Tyler Schlaffer against Lake County lefty Caden Favors.
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