The South Bend Cubs (60-38) dropped their rain-shortened series finale to the Lake County Captains (54-44) on Sunday afternoon at Classic Auto Group Park, losing 1-0 in seven innings. The Cubs had taken the lead with four runs in the top of the eighth, but those runs came off the board because the cancellation denied Lake County a chance to answer.
Click here to view Sunday’s box score.
Both of Sunday’s starting pitchers thrived, combining for 11.0 innings without an earned run allowed. For the Cubs, left-hander Pierce Coppola struck out four and walked none in 5.0 innings, allowing a single unearned run. Coppola made a tremendous catch in the first inning, sliding to snag a pop fly behind the mound. His opponent, right-hander Jacob Zibin, held the Cubs scoreless across 6.0 innings, allowing just one hit and striking out three.
The only official run of the day scored in the bottom of the fourth, as the Cubs made three errors to bring designated hitter Jonah Advincula around the bases. Advincula led off with a pop-up that third baseman Michael Hallquist lost in the sun, and he then advanced to third on a Coppola pickoff error. With a runner behind him stealing second, Advincula scored on a third error by catcher Justin Stransky, whose throw to second sailed into center field.
After Coppola’s departure, South Bend right-hander Jose Romero faced the minimum in what turned out to be the final two innings of the game. The Cubs would take a 4-1 lead in the top of the eighth on a home run from left fielder Jose Escobar, an RBI double from first baseman Michael Carico, and a two-run single from right fielder Geuri Lubo. However, all four runs came off the record with the arrival of rain in the middle of the eighth inning, and the game went final with Lake County’s 1-0 lead at the end of seven frames.
The Cubs now head back home to open a six-game series against the Cedar Rapids Kernels at Four Winds Field. The Cubs and Kernels will begin the series at 7:05 PM on Tuesday, August 4.