The South Bend Cubs (48-33) picked up another high-scoring victory on Friday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium, clobbering the Cedar Rapids Kernels (34-48) by an 18-8 score. South Bend scored at least three runs in an inning four different times, taking a 10-2 lead only three innings into the game.
Click here to view Friday’s box score.
Working against struggling Cedar Rapids right-hander Cesar Lares, the Cubs put three runs on the board in the first inning. A handful of Kernel miscues allowed for the fast start, as second baseman Christian Olivo reached on an error to lead off, and back-to-back walks followed. South Bend’s first run scored on a passed ball, left fielder Jose Escobar drove in the second with a single, and a wild pitch provided the third.
No. 28 Cubs prospect Pierce Coppola needed the run support, as the big left-hander allowed six runs across 3.0 innings in his High-A debut as the Cubs’ status pitcher. Cedar Rapids scored a run against him in each of the first two innings before getting four in the third on a grand slam from shortstop Jose Salas. Fortunately for Coppola, his offense had already reached 10 runs by the time the Salas slam flew over the right-field wall.
South Bend blew the game open twice on Friday, doing so first with a seven-run third inning. Three different Cubs notched multi-RBI hits in the massive frame, chasing Lares from the mound. Third baseman Matt Halbach, who would go on to record three hits and two RBI for the second consecutive night, drove in a pair with a single to left-center. Center fielder Kane Kepley later whacked another two-run single to the big part of the yard, and designated hitter Josiah Hartshorn added another two-run knock to shallow center. Kernels center fielder Yasser Mercedes misplayed the bounce on Hartshorn’s hit, allowing the No. 2 Cubs prospect to reach third on a triple and give his team a 10-2 lead.
Beginning with the Salas grand slam in the bottom of the third, Cedar Rapids threatened to come all the way back, but the Kernels couldn’t quite push their rally over the edge. They stranded two runners on a key Coppola strikeout to end the third before going after South Bend’s bullpen in the middle innings. Right-hander JP Wheat loaded the bases with spotty command in the fourth, but Salas flied out as the tying run to conclude the inning. The Kernels managed two runs against righty Kenten Egbert in the fifth, as third baseman Danny De Andrade led off with a triple for his third hit of the game before left fielder Graham Brown and Mercedes each doubled. However, they wouldn’t come any closer than 10-8 for the rest of the night.
After right-hander Mitch Mueller’s two perfect innings in the fifth and sixth, the Cubs returned their battering of Cedar Rapids pitching with a three-run seventh. The inning started with consecutive singles from Halbach and right fielder Miguel Useche, who each crossed the plate on a double from catcher Logan Poteet. Olivo then took Poteet’s place with another two-bagger, stretching South Bend’s lead to 13-8.
Any chances of a Kernel comeback vanished in the top of the ninth, as the Cubs produced five runs and batted around for the second time in the game. An Useche triple and a Poteet double each drove in a run before shortstop Angel Cepeda brought the game to its final score with a two-run single. Every Cub in the starting lineup scored a run on Friday, as Halbach (three hits) and Poteet (three RBI) led the way to an 18-run performance.
All the while, left-hander Ethan Flanagan locked up the Kernels with another dominant performance in long relief. Earning his second win of the season, Flanagan struck out seven hitters in 4.0 shutout innings. Across the last two games, both victories, South Bend’s bullpen has covered 11.0 innings while allowing just two runs.
Leading the series 3-1, the Cubs will face the Kernels again at 7:35 PM ET on Saturday, July 11. Right-hander Alfredo Romero is scheduled to start for South Bend against Cedar Rapids righty Adrian Bohorquez.