The momentum simply carried over from Thursday night for the Cubs. After scoring the final 19 runs of the game yesterday, South Bend scored the only nine runs of Friday night, dominating every facet of the game to a take a 3-1series lead.
Kane Kepley started off the game rolling a single through the right side of the infield and Ty Southisene followed suit with a single to center. A walk to Cameron Sisneros by Rattlers starter Travis Smith loaded the bases. Kade Snell sent a long flyball to left field that went down as a sac-fly to make it 1-0. That’s when Leonel Espinoza stepped up and unleashed a powerful blast to left-center, clearing the tall wall and bringing home three more runs.
From there Cole Reynolds took the positive energy and ran with it.
The 23-year-old righty put forth his best outing as a South Bend Cub, going five shutout innings and allowing just one base hit – a one-out single in the fifth. He tallied his first win of the season, striking out five along the way while inducing a pair of double plays.
Ethan Bell put up a scoreless sixth to keep it at 4-0.
Chandler Welch had thrown a scoreless sixth himself for Wisconsin but he got roughed up the following frame.
Again Kepley led off the rally, this time blistering a double into the gap in left. Southisene got plunked and Sisneros brought everyone home with a three-run bomb to right. Snell then singled and came all the way around to scoreon a Justin Stransky triple out to the 405 sign in right-center field.
The final run of the game came home on a Kepley single in the ninth.
Meanwhile Adam Stone continued his electric comeback season with three shutout frames and four punchouts to end the night and pick up a save.
With a win tomorrow the Cubs would take over first place in the West Division. Saturday, game four starts with first pitch at 2:10 PM ET. dd