South Bend Falls in Series Opener to Captains 5-3
June 1, 2018 - Midwest League (MWL1)
South Bend Cubs News Release
South Bend, IN: Two straight series victories over West Michigan and Great Lakes has propelled the Cubs to another opportunity to get their record back to .500. In game one of a three game series against the Lake County Captains, the Cubs got on the board first, but could not mount a full comeback late and dropped the game 5-3.
Sending right hander Erich Uelmen to the mound in the series opener, the Cubs hoped to win their third straight game. Uelmen allowed two runs in the top of the 2nd inning off of a two run single from Jose Medina. That snapped a scoreless streak of 20.2 innings for the Las Vegas native. With another run in the top of the 5th, Lake County took the 3-1 lead.
That was until Michael Cruz came to the plate to lead of the bottom of the 5th. Cruz fought a 0-2 count against starter Francisco Perez with three foul balls. On another 0-2 offering, Cruz clobbered a line drive over the right field wall off of the scoreboard. It was Cruz's sixth home run of the season, and second off the Four Winds Field scoreboard.
With a 3-2 score, the Cubs were in the hunt for the lead. But the Captains again were able to score a pair of insurance runs off of Ben Hecht in the 8th inning. Jose Medina finished the night 3/3 with a home run off of Hecht and three RBI.
Needing three runs to tie, and four to win in the bottom of the 9th, South Bend rallied enough to get the tying run at first base. Michael Cruz picked up his second RBI of the day with a single to bring the game to 5-3. With runners at the corners and two outs, Christian Donahue came to the plate.
Earlier in the game, Donahue extended his hitting streak to a 2018 team high of 13 games. Against reliever Cameron Mingo, Donahue worked the count to 3-2, fouling off pitch after pitch. On the final 3-2 pitch from Mingo, Donahue hit the ball high in the air to left field. With the wind having no effect, the ball landed in Medina's glove and the game was over.
With the loss, South Bend drops to 24-29 on the season. Lake County improves to 22-33. Game two of the series is set from Four Winds Field tomorrow.
Midwest League Stories from June 1, 2018
- Late Chiefs' homer sinks LumberKings - Clinton LumberKings
- Cougars Sneak Past Wisconsin - Kane County Cougars
- Medina, Perez Help Captains Snap Skid - Lake County Captains
- Cougars Edge Rattlers 2-1 - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
- Beloit Holds off Bandits Comeback, Wins Opener 4-2 - Quad Cities River Bandits
- Larkins Dominates, Lugs Win 9th Straight vs. Dayton, 12-1 - Lansing Lugnuts
- South Bend Falls in Series Opener to Captains 5-3 - South Bend Cubs
- Kernels Fall Despite Kirilloff's Strong Outing - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- Lugnuts Explode Late, Defeat Dragons 12-1 on Friday Night - Dayton Dragons
- TinCaps Storm Back to Top Loons - Great Lakes Loons
- Chiefs Edge LumberKings 4-3 - Peoria Chiefs
- Pour it on: Hot Rods Win 15-1 - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- Whitecaps Bowled over by Hot Rods - West Michigan Whitecaps
- TinCaps Game Notes: June 1 at Great Lakes (Game 53) - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- River Bandits' Pitching Staff Shuffled - Quad Cities River Bandits
- Dragons Notes for Friday - Dayton Dragons
- TinCaps & Padres to Donate to Challenger Baseball League - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Dayton Dragons MVPs to Celebrate at Fifth Third Field - Dayton Dragons
- Snappers Bounce Back with Double-Header Sweep - Beloit Sky Carp
- Captains' Sixth Straight Loss a Heartbreaker in 11 - Lake County Captains
- Whitecaps Win Big, Lose Big - West Michigan Whitecaps
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
