Late South Bend Rally Spoils Graceffo's Gem
May 3, 2022 - Midwest League (MWL)
Peoria Chiefs News Release
South Bend, IN - Tuesday's starter Gordon Graceffo lowered his league-leading ERA to 0.65 after throwing six shutout innings but a late South Bend rally powered the Cubs to a 5-4 win in 10 innings.
On a cold, rainy night in South Bend, Graceffo was locked in from the start. The right-hander retired the first six batters he faced. In the third inning, he stranded a pair of baserunners and recalibrated from there. The Cardinals 23rd-ranked prospect retired the last 10 batters that he faced. In his sixth and final frame, he struck out the side to finish with eight punchouts on the evening.
The game was scoreless until the sixth. After a pair of singles, the Chiefs scored two runs in the inning, both via the wild pitch to jump out to a 2-0 lead.
After Levi Prater pitched a clean seventh, the offense pushed through for two more in the eighth inning. With Francisco Hernandez at second, Thomas Francisco doubled to the gap in the left center to make it 3-0 Peoria. Two batters later, Masyn Winn singled into center to push the Peoria lead to 4-0.
After collecting just two hits through seven innings, the Cubs offense came to life late. South Bend scratched one in the eighth after they loaded the bases.
Then, in the ninth, Alexander Canario hit a two-run homer to cut the deficit to 4-3. The next batter, Matt Mervis, who had struck out three times in the ballgame, homered to right to tie the game, 4-4.
In extra innings, the Chiefs pushed a runner to third but ultimately could not score. A one-out single scored South Bend's ghost runner to win the game 5-4. The Chiefs dropped to 2-4 in extra innings games this season.
The Chiefs will have a quick turnaround Wednesday as they will take on South Bend at 11:05 a.m. local time. First pitch is slated for 10:05 a.m. in the central time zone.
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