South Bend Cubs Drop First Game of League Championship Series in Shootout

The Chicago Cubs High-A affiliate South Bend led early in the first game of its championship series, but couldn't hold on and trail in the best of three series.

Author:
Payton Havermann
Publish date:
Sep 19, 2022 4:00 PM EDT

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Chicago Cubs

Chicago Cubs High-A affiliate South Bend kicked off the Midwest League Championship series against the Lake County Captains, coming out on the losing end of an 11-8 shootout.

South Bend got hot early, tagging the Captains for five runs in the bottom of the second inning, capped off by a Jordan Nwogu single that scored the fourth and fifth runs in the frame. Cubs starter Kohl Franklin walked in a run in the third but allowed no further damage, leaving the bases loaded. The righty did not fare much better in the fourth, however.

Lake County put up a five-spot of its own in the top of the frame, chasing Franklin after just 3.1 innings and getting to the normally dominant Luke Little for two runs as well.

South Bend tied the game in the bottom of the fourth, but the offensive onslaught from the Captains continued, scoring in every inning from the third through the ninth except for the seventh, a pace with which the Cubs lineup was unable to match.

South Bend will look to keep its season alive at 6 p.m. CST Tuesday as the Cubs travel on the road to Eastlake, Ohio for game two.

Also on the farm:

Triple-A: Iowa Cubs (64-77) vs Memphis Redbirds (69-72): L 3-1

Darius Hill, Tommy Payne, and Scott McKeon had two hits in the game. Each player is batting .300 or better in Triple-A.
Matt Mervis walked twice. The first baseman has an OPS of .980 with Iowa.
Iowa's bullpen duo of Bryan Hudson and Ben Leeper combined to pitch 2.2 shutout innings, striking out three batters, walking one, and allowing no hits.

Double-A: Tennessee Smokies (71-66) at Chattanooga Lookouts (61-75): W 11-4

Nelson Maldonado went 2-for-5 with two RBI and his seventh home run in Double-A. The Florida product has an OPS of 1.031 in 39 games with Tennessee.
Jake Washer went 2-for-4 with three RBI and a home run. The catcher has three long balls this season.
DJ Artis went 2-for-3 with a triple, two RBI, a stolen base and two walks. It was just the second game of the season for the 25-year-old who'd been on the injured list since April.
Cole Roederer and Chase Strumpf each walked and had a lone knock that went for extra bases. Strumpf tripled while Roederer doubled.
Samuel Reyes hurled two shutout innings, striking out four batters against two walks and a hit.

High-A: South Bend Cubs (0-1) vs Lake County Captains (1-0): L 11-8

Kevin Made went 2-for-3 with a double, home run, and a pair of RBI.
BJ Murray Jr. went 3-for-4 with two doubles and scored twice.
Jordan Nwogu went 2-for-4 with a walk and drove in a pair of runs.
Pablo Aliendo and Yohendrick Pinango also tallied two hits apiece and drove in a combined three runs.