Beloit, WI - For the second time this season, the South Bend Cubs have lost four straight games. And for the third time in the last four games, the Cubs fell despite holding at least one lead in the game. Thursday night at ABC Supply Stadium in Beloit, the Sky Carp toppled the Cubs 13-5, and have taken the first three games of this week’s six-game series.
Wednesday night, South Bend dropped the game despite leading 7-1 in the 6th inning. On Thursday, South Bend held a pair of leads in the game, and was on top 5-4 in the same 6th inning scenario. Still, it was Beloit on the comeback path again.
Both teams left the bases loaded in the 1st inning. However, both teams picked up at least one run in their halves of the 1st. The Cubs utilized a bases loaded walk taken by Matt Halbach to go up 1-0 early, but that was answered with three tallies by the Sky Carp in their section of the 1st. Dillon Head crushed a solo homer in the 2nd, going up 4-1.
The most fruitful inning for the Cubs came in the top of the 3rd, when South Bend scored four times. Josiah Hartshorn started the rally with a walk. That was followed by singles by Jose Escobar, Angel Cepeda, and Halbach, and then a double by Miguel Useche. The go-ahead run was plated by Michael Hallquist, via an RBI-groundout. Hallquist has three RBI in his first two games in the Chicago Cubs organization after being signed out of independent baseball.
Up 5-4, Jackson Brockett checked in out of the Cubs bullpen in the top of the 4th, replacing starter Nazier Mulé. Brockett pitched perfect frames in both the 4th and the 5th. As the game went to the 6th with the same score, Beloit tied the game thanks to an infield single and a Cubs error.
Like Wednesday, the late innings were kind to Beloit, as the Sky Carp went on to plate nine unanswered runs between the 6th and 8th innings, including the game winning hit in the 7th, a solo homer by Jacob Jenkins-Cowart. The Sky Carp scored five runs in the 8th, wrapping up the third separate inning in the game where they sent nine men to the plate.
With the loss, South Bend drops to 5-7 in Midwest League second-half play. They now have a total record standing at 44-30. The Cubs will hope to break their four game skid when the two teams get together again on Friday night at 7:35 PM EST.
Pitching in his third High-A rehab assignment game, top Chicago Cubs pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins will get the start for South Bend.