South Bend Rallies Back to Beat Wisconsin 5-4

Appleton, WI - Down to their final three outs and down by two runs in the 9th inning, the South Bend Cubs needed one of their biggest rallies of the season in order to make a comeback against the first half West Division champion Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. And they got it. A three-run top of the 9th inning gave South Bend a crucial lead, and ultimately a 5-4 victory for their second win of this series in Wisconsin.

South Bend has now won three straight games, and now is tied for the top spot in the Midwest League West Division in the second half along with the Beloit Sky Carp. South Bend is 4-1 in the second half, and 31-40 on the season.

The game started with both starting pitchers, Erian Rodriguez for South Bend, and Tate Kuehner for Wisconsin, each looking pretty sharp. Kuehner threw five scoreless innings against South Bend at Four Winds Field on May 22, and did so again on Wednesday. Kuehner allowed two baserunners in the second inning, and then sent down 13 in a row as he settled in a solid groove.

Rodriguez produced a start where he may not have had his best stuff, but battled every step of the way. His lone run surrendered came after a lead-off walk, when Matt Wood doubled home Luke Adams. A 1-0 game after four innings, South Bend tied it up in the 6th when Rafael Morel scored on an RBI-groundout from Pedro Ramirez.

Out of the bullpen, Tyler Schlaffer pitched 1-2-3 innings in both the 6th and 7th, and South Bend took a short-lived lead in the top of the 8th when Morel tripled, and then was brought in via a single from Brett Bateman.

Wisconsin’s most productive inning of the day came in the bottom of the 8th inning. They plated three runs, two from a flare single from Eduardo Garcia, and the next thanks to a Tayden Hall RBI single. It was 4-2 Rattlers heading to the 9th inning.

South Bend would need that big comeback, and they got it started on a double from Jonathon Long. With a hit and a walk on Wednesday, Long has been on base seven times in two games this series. Parker Chavers continued his consecutive games on-base streak to 22 straight games with a single.

With runners at the corners, Ed Howard doubled home Long to make it 4-3. The next batter was Jordan Nwogu, who knocked in Chavers with an RBI sac-fly.

Tied at 4-4, the go ahead run was at second base for Morel. On a 3-0 pitch, Morel swung and chopped a ball up the middle for his third hit in four innings. Howard scored, and South Bend was ahead 5-4.

In the bottom of the 9th, Yovanny Cabrera shut down the final three outs to earn the Cubs the victory. Comeback style, South Bend will look for their fourth straight win on Thursday night when the Rattlers host them again at 7:40 PM ET. Right-hander Nick Dean is the scheduled starter for the Cubs.