Nwogu 3-Run Homer Propels Cubs to Win in Opener

SOUTH BEND, IN - The Cubs continued their winnings ways on Tuesday night with a come-from-behind victory to take the series opener vs the WhiteCaps.

South Bend trailed 3-1 halfway through the fourth inning in a battle between two of the the most dominant pitchers in the minors in May.

Jaden Hamm was crowned the Midwest League Pitcher of the Month in April and then went out in May and allowed just one earned run in 17.1 innings. But after allowing a solo shot to Jonathon Long in the second inning, he had arguably his worst inning of the season in the fourth. After hitting Long with a pitch, Parker Chavers singled to give the Cubs two-on with one out. Trailing 3-1, Nwogu rocked a 3-run blast to left to give the home team their first lead.

The righty from Middle Tennessee State got the next two batters out but lasted just four innings, taking the loss, his first of the season.

In the fifth inning the Cubs get the pressure on West Michigan as Erick Pinales came in and the first five batters reached against the WhiteCaps bullpen. After back-to-back walks, Jefferson Rojas rifled an RBI-double down the line in right. Another walk meant Chris Maulani entered the game after Pinales’ struggles. Maulani hit Long with the bases loaded to bring home another run and the Cubs capped another 3-run frame to take a commanding 7-3 lead.

Meanwhile Nick Dean got the start for South Bend and put forth a rather gutsy effort that ended with his third win in three starts at this level. He allowed an unearned run in the first inning after an error on a throw from short allowed Seth Stevenson to reach to begin the game. Stevenson stole second, got to third on a groundout, and scored on a wild pitch. Roberto Campos got a hanging breaking ball in the fourth and launched a homer to give the Whitecaps a 2-1 lead at the time. After giving up two more singles, a sac-fly from Josh Crouch gave West Michigan a 3-1 advantage.

Dean retired the last five batters he faced and allowed just two earned runs in five innings.

From there Carlos Reyes and Yovanny Cabrera both delivered a pair of scoreless innings as the cubs moved to 5-1 in their last six games and 9-4 in their last 13.

Pedro Ramirez (2-3, BB, R) and Jefferson Rojas (1-4, 2B, RBI, R) both extended their on-base streaks to 16 games in the win.