South Bend Cubs blow five-run lead, drop Midwest Playoff opener
After taking a 5-0 lead in the bottom of second, the South Bend Cubs let Lake County back in with a five-run fourth inning and dropped the opening game, 11-8, of the Midwest League High A minor league baseball championship series at Four Winds Field Sunday evening.
The game featured 30 hits to go with the 19 total runs.
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South Bend's second inning saw BJ Murray double then Pablo Aliendo picked up his own two-bagger and put South Bend on the board. That was followed by RBI base hits from Yohendrick Pinango, Kevin Made, and then Jordan Nwogu. The Cubs led 5-0 early.
Lake County came back with a run in the third and then took the lead in the fourth with five runs and never relinquished. South Bend did get within a run, 9-8, in the bottom of the sixth, scoring on a walk, a hit and a sacrifice fly. The Cubs were shut down after that while Lake County added single runs in the top of eighth and ninth innings.
As the game went to the 9th inning with South Bend behind by three, the Cubs brought the tying run to the plate when Pete Crow-Armstrong and Jordan Nwogu both reached base. The Captains closed it out, however, and South Bend is behind 1-0 in the series.
Lake County will host Game 2 Tuesday (7 p.m., EST on WSBT 960 AM) and Game 3 (if necessary) Wednesday in Eastlake, Ohio.
Murray went 3-for-4, including a double for South Bend and scored two runs. Nwogu, Pinango and Made each had two hits for South Bend. Made's performance included a home run that tied the game at 6-6 in the bottom of the fifth inning. Luke Little worked 1 2/3 innings for the loss.
Yordys Valdes went 4-for-6, including a double and a triple with two RBIs for Lake County. Will Dion worked two innings for the win.
This marks the second time in the past three seasons that the Cubs have advanced to the final series. South Bend won the league in 2019, its first title since 2005.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend Cubs drop Midwest League playoff opener to Lake County
