Chiefs Score Wire-to-Wire Win over South Bend

SOUTH BEND, IN – The Peoria Chiefs scored in five separate innings Saturday and never trailed in a convincing 8-2 win over the South Bend Cubs at Four Winds Field.

A pair of two-out hits in the game’s first inning set the tone for a Chiefs win. With a runner at second, Chris Rotondo singled into left to score Brody Moore and give Peoria an early 1-0 edge. The next batter, Won-Bin Cho, unleashed a 104 MPH rocket single to double the lead to 2-0.

Two innings later, the Chiefs extended their lead in a hurry. Moore, Tre Richardson and Leonardo Bernal combined on three consecutive doubles to boost the Chiefs lead to 4-0. A bases-loaded walk to Michael Curialle later pushed the lead to 5-0.

In the fourth, Bernal was in the middle of another Chiefs run. With a runner at second, the Peoria catcher singled into right. The throw back to the infield was cut off by South Bend’s Wally Soto. The first baseman tried to throw behind a rounding Bernal but chucked the ball in the right field to score Richardson and balloon the lead to 6-0.

Against rehabbing Cubs reliever Ben Leeper, Bernal added to the Chiefs advantage in the top of the sixth. The 20-year-old mashed a no doubter to right, his ninth home run of the year, to give Peoria a 7-0 lead. Bernal finished a triple shy of the cycle Saturday.

Peoria starter Hancel Rincon logged his third win in three tries against the rival Cubs. Rincon again received plenty of run support from his offense, but he was sharp in his own right. Rincon racked up soft contact and worked an efficient pitch count through six scoreless innings. South Bend broke up the shutout with a triple and a Jordan Nwogu single in the seventh inning to make it 7-1.

Joshua Baez joined the home run party in the eighth inning. His long solo shot extended the lead to 8-1. Baez became the first Chiefs hitter to record 10 home runs this season.

The Cubs scratched a run in the bottom of the ninth but never threatened on Saturday. Tyler Bradt recorded consecutive strikeouts to end the game. With the victory, the Chiefs improved to 12-5 against the rival Cubs this season.

Moore joined Bernal with a multi-hit effort in the win. Moore is now hitting .343 in July. Richardson’s third-inning double pushed his hit streak to 11 games.

Sunday’s series finale is set for 2:05 PM EDT/1:05 CDT. Pete Hansen will take the mound for Peoria, his fifth start against South Bend this season.