Cubs' Rally Runs out of Time in 11-9 Loss to Peoria

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MWL South Bend Cubs

Cubs' Rally Runs out of Time in 11-9 Loss to Peoria

April 13, 2025 - Midwest League (MWL)
South Bend Cubs News Release


South Bend, IN - After no more than eight runs scored in any of this week's first five games between the Peoria Chiefs and South Bend Cubs, chaos erupted on Sunday afternoon. The Chiefs hung on for an 11-9 win at Four Winds Field after coming within an eyelash of coughing up a 9-1 lead. Peoria has now won back-to-back games after opening the season 0-7, while South Bend falls to 4-5, having already nailed down the six-game series victory.

Peoria scored first for the sixth consecutive game, recording a run in the first inning for the second consecutive contest. A throwing error brought in right fielder Zach Levenson before third baseman Michael Curialle took Cubs starting pitcher Kenten Egbert deep in the second inning for a 2-0 Chiefs lead. Curialle now stands as the only Peoria hitter with multiple home runs to start the season. Egbert would strand the bases loaded in the third inning to finish his outing and turn the ball over to the South Bend bullpen.

Cubs relievers, who had been pitching so well to start the year, didn't quite have their best stuff on Sunday afternoon. The Chiefs tallied three runs against South Bend left-hander Marino Santy, as center fielder Won-Bin Cho whacked a two-run single up the middle and Curialle plated another by wearing a pitch. However, right-hander Kenyi Perez and the Cub defense would finish the half-inning with a double play, as center fielder Rafael Morel cut down Peoria left fielder Miguel Ugueto at the plate on a potential sacrifice fly play. The Chiefs would grab a run in the top of the sixth, as the Cubs made a couple of errors to push Peoria into a 6-0 lead.

Meanwhile, South Bend's offense had chances to put a dent in Peoria starter Hancel Rincon's line early on but couldn't do so. Making his second start of the series, Rincon struck out first baseman Edgar Alvarez and catcher Ariel Armas in the first inning, also leaving two runners in scoring position to end the third. Having fallen behind 6-0, the Cubs would scratch their first run across against Peoria reliever Jawilme Ramirez in the sixth. The run scored on a dropped pop-up that turned into a fielder's choice for shortstop Reginald Preciado.

Peoria quickly washed away that run by putting up three in the top of the seventh. The Cubs made their fifth error of the day in that frame, setting the table for Levenson to single in two and put the Chiefs up 9-1 with his third hit of the afternoon. At that point, the Chiefs held a 99.8% chance of winning the game, with the Cubs needing eight runs and down to their final nine outs.

South Bend shrugged off those odds in a bottom half of the seventh inning that featured five walks, three singles, and seven runs. Tyler Bradt started the frame for Peoria but couldn't finish it, throwing 10 consecutive balls right out of the chute and walking four before recording an out. Left fielder Carter Trice kept the line moving for South Bend with an RBI single, and designated Cristian Hernandez did the same with a bases-loaded walk that narrowed the margin to 9-6. Second baseman Reivaj Garcia then brought the Cubs within one on an opposite-way single that knocked in two runs. Right fielder Ivan Brethowr would go down swinging to end the frame, but it was game on regardless at Four Winds Field.

Peoria would create some critical breathing room with two runs in the top of the eighth against left-hander Burl Carraway. Four consecutive Chiefs received free passes from Carraway, and a couple of wild pitches also helped Peoria move into an 11-8 lead. South Bend would answer right back, however, with a run in the bottom of the eighth, as Preciado picked up his second RBI on a single.

Thinned out by Saturday's doubleheader split, the South Bend bullpen ran out of options for the ninth inning and turned to backup catcher David Avitia. At times throwing the ball softer than the average ceremonial first pitcher, Avitia accomplished something that no other Cub pitcher could on Sunday afternoon: a 1-2-3 inning. Trice sealed the deal with a diving catch that prompted a standing ovation for the South Bend backstop-turned-reliever.

Despite the momentum brought on by Avitia's unanticipated performance, South Bend went down quietly without a baserunner in the bottom of the ninth. Right-hander Tanner Jacobson earned the save, putting to bed a frenzied game that spanned more than three and a half hours while featuring 23 combined hits and 20 total walks. Levenson led the Peoria offense with three hits, two walks, and a pair of runs batted in, while Hernandez got on base four more times for the Cubs to continue his excellent start to 2025.

With the season's first full series in the books, Peoria and South Bend won't meet again until early July. The Chiefs will head home to face the Cedar Rapids Kernels, while the Cubs will make the trek north to battle Detroit's High-A affiliate, the West Michigan Whitecaps. South Bend won four out of six games against West Michigan last year and will begin this year's set in Grand Rapids at 6:35 PM on Tuesday.

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