Wiggins Tallies 1st Pro Win as Cubs Take No-Hitter into 7th

SOUTH BEND, IN - Jaxon Wiggins picked up hit first pro win as the Cubs dominated on Saturday night, taking a no-hitter two outs into the seventh, and finishing out the game with a 5-1 victory.

Wiggins sat down the first seven batters he faced, including four strikeouts before running into some trouble in the third. He walked three-straight hitters with one away but on arguably the most consequential pitch of the night, he induced an inning-ending double play off the bat of Nick Vogt that totally changed the tone of the game.

South Bend came right back and took the lead the next half inning. Jordan Nwogu led things off with a single, then stole second base. Enmanuel Pinales came back with a strikeout of Reivaj Garcia for the second out. The Cubs had really struggled throughout the week with men in scoring position, going just 3-for-29 across the first four games. But Pedro Ramirez ripped a single into center to put the Cubs in front.

Including the double play, Wiggins sat down the last seven TinCaps, concluding a career-long five-inning outing. He retired the side in order in every inning but the third and left with no runs allowed and zero hits given up.

Andy Garriola began the fourth inning with a walk and advanced up to third on Edgar Alvarez’s second base hit of the night. Alvarez has been on-base in all five games he’s played as a pro, and picked up seven hits in that span. Ed Howard brought a run home on a double play to make it 2-0. Parker Chavers continued the inning with a double drilled deep to right. Jordan Nwogu finished off the frame with a run-scoring single.

With two outs in the fifth, Ethan Hearn continued his torrid stretch since the All-Star break with a bomb way out out to right off Pinales to make it 4-0.

Howard was the first man up in the sixth the greet the first TinCaps reliever, Will Geerdes. Howard blooped a single to right to shallow right to start things off and then moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch. On ball four to Parker Chavers the ball got behind Ethan Salas and Howard moved up with another free base. Nwogu then tallied his second RBI of the night on a sac fly nearly to fall in left.

Meanwhile Mitchell Tyranski continued the Cubs no-hit bid with a perfect sixth. After promptly sitting down the first two batters of the seventh though, Joshua Mears smoked a single into left to the end the Cubs bid at an 11th no-hitter. Mears swiped second and came around to touch home on Ethan Long’s double down the line in right.

Yovanny Cabrera closed out the game by getting the final six outs and the Cubs ended their six-game skid.