South Bend Cubs pummel Cedar Rapids, advance to Midwest League Championship Series
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The South Bend Cubs will play for another Midwest League championship after finishing off Cedar Rapids, 9-3, Friday night in Game 3 of the Eastern Division playoffs.
It 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.
Up next for the Cubs will be the Lake County Captains, an affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The best-of-three series begins Sunday at at Four Winds Field in South Bend. Gates open at 5 p.m. with the first pitch scheduled for 6:05 p.m. The box office will open at noon Sunday and tickets can be purchased at the South Bend Cubs website.
Lake County will host Game 2 and Game 3 (if necessary) in Eastlake, Ohio.
On Friday the Cubs jumped out to a 7-0 lead before the Kernels broke through with three runs in the bottom of the seventh. South Bend exploded for four runs in the first inning, chasing Cedar Rapids starting pitcher Orlando Rodriguez who recorded just one out. The Cubs offense kept clicking and would score an additional five runs, two of those coming in the top of the 9th inning.
Cubs starter Daniel Palencia pitched five innings allowed two hits while struck out eight. Reilly Martin replaced Palencia in the sixth, retiring the Kernels in order. But in the seventh he gave up three runs on two hits, walking two and striking out one. Michael McAvene would finish the inning with a one-pitch fly out and pitch a scoreless eighth before turning the ball over to Jake Reindl who made quick work of Fedko, Javier, and Joe Garry Jr.
The Cubs were led offensively by Pete Crow-Armstrong who had three hits and scored three runs. Jordan Nwogu added three runs while Own Cassie had four RBI.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend Cubs down Cedar Rapids, will play for Midwest League title
