South Bend Cubs’ Early Lead Slips Away in Eighth-Inning Collapse

The South Bend Cubs looked to end their five-game losing streak against the West Michigan Whitecaps on a rainy Friday night. After a delay of an hour and 10 minutes due to weather, the Cubs came out strong. Carter Trice launched a home run to left-center field, driving in Jefferson Rojas. A few batters later, Andy Garriola followed with a two-run homer of his own, bringing in Brian Kalmer and capping off a four-run first inning to give South Bend an early 4–0 lead.

Cubs starting pitcher Nick Dean delivered a solid outing, going five innings while allowing just two runs and striking out six.

South Bend had an opportunity to add insurance runs in the top of the seventh when they loaded the bases but came up empty. Reliever Sam Thoresen kept things in check with a clean 1-2-3 inning in the bottom half, but struggled in the eighth—allowing a run and exiting with the bases loaded.

Marino Santy entered in relief but had trouble with command, hitting back-to-back batters to bring in the tying and go-ahead runs. With two outs, he issued another walk, allowing a fourth run of the inning to score. In total, the Whitecaps plated four runs in the eighth to take a 6–4 lead, erasing what had once been a comfortable cushion for the Cubs.

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