Second Half Starts Strong with 4-3 Victory Over Captains

South Bend, IN - In the first game of the Midwest League’s second-half, the South Bend Cubs started the dash to September just as they did to begin the season. Except it was a lot more hot outside. They won a start by lefty Drew Gray to begin a half, and now own a 1-0 record to begin the final half of the campaign. 4-3 over the Lake County Captains, South Bend has their first victory of this week.

After trailing early to begin each of the first three games of the series against the first-half champion Captains, it was the Cubs out in front first. Rafael Morel singled to begin the 1st inning, then stealing second and eventually making it to third. He scored via a Jefferson Rojas RBI groundout.

The Captains were quick to answer though, as two came home in the top of the 2nd when Tyresse Turner plated a pair on a single. That lead did not hold long. The Cubs threw a punch right back with a Brian Kalmer RBI-double, and then a run scoring single from Ed Howard barreled up the middle.

The game then settled down. Drew Gray completed four solid innings with three strikeouts, and then it was time for ‘The Dean’. Nick Dean has been a fabulous add to the Cubs roster since coming up from Low-A Myrtle Beach, and after stranding multiple men on base in his first couple innings, he cruised. Dean punched out two in four innings of one-run baseball, picking up his fourth win in six outings with the club.

Jonathon Long provided the game deciding run in the bottom of the 8th. The inning started against Lake County righty Jay Driver, who came in with a 0.44 ERA, with a Rojas single. Driver then threw a wild pick-off throw to first, sending Rojas all the way to third. Long then knocked him in on a sacrifice-fly RBI.

In the 9th, Yovanny Cabrera closed the final three outs with ease, striking out Alex Mooney to end things. The Cubs are 1-0, the vibes are high, and the second half is rolling.

South Bend will look to continue the strong weekend when they face the Captains again on Saturday night at 7:05 PM. Right-hander Sam Armstrong is the expected starter for the Cubs.