Cubs’ Comeback Doesn’t Hold in 11-7 Loss to Cedar Rapids

The South Bend Cubs (48-34) came out on the wrong end of a shootout against the Cedar Rapids Kernels (35-48) on Saturday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium, dropping an 11-7 result. After blowing a 5-0 lead, Cedar Rapids used a six-run seventh inning to recapture control of the game and, for now, stave off a series loss.

Click here to view Saturday’s box score.

The 11-7 score came as a surprise given how the first half of the game unfolded, as both starting pitchers exchanged zeroes. Operating on a pitch count, Cedar Rapids righty Adrian Bohorquez delivered 2.2 scoreless innings, working around a leadoff double from right fielder Christian Olivo to start the game. Meanwhile, right-hander Alfredo Romero continued his recent success out of the gate before running into trouble in the middle innings. Cedar Rapids struck first in the bottom of the fourth, as designated hitter Enrique Jimenez ripped an RBI double to the right-field corner, and shortstop Danny De Andrade tagged an RBI single to center.

The Kernels would add three more runs in the fifth inning, attacking righty reliever Nate Williams with a two-out rally. Right fielder Yasser Mercedes, catcher Eduardo Tait, and third baseman Henry Kusiak all picked up RBI doubles with two outs, extending the Cedar Rapids lead to 5-0. The inning could have been much worse if not for an Olivo outfield assist and a diving catch from left fielder Jose Escobar before the doubles parade began.

South Bend responded across the next two innings, punishing reliever Michael Ross, who had started his appearance with 2.1 scoreless frames. In their three-run sixth, the Cubs’ first four batters all reached safely. Escobar yanked an RBI double to get his team on the board, and shortstop Angel Cepeda skied a two-run home run, his first at the High-A level, over the left-field wall.

The Cubs picked up the comeback again in the seventh, producing three more runs to take a 6-5 lead. Second baseman Michael Hallquist led off with a double, and two more men reached behind to load the bases with nobody out. Escobar pulled the Cubs within a run on a sacrifice fly, and a heads-up baserunning play evened the score. With runners on the corners and center fielder Kane Kepley stealing second, Olivo broke for the plate on the throw down, tying the game. Third baseman Matt Halbach then scored Kepley with a go-ahead single to center, earning his seventh RBI of the series.

Unfortunately for the Cubs, their lead vanished quickly, as Cedar Rapids battered right-hander Ben Johnson with a six-run inning in his return from the Injured List. An error and two walks loaded the bases for shortstop Danny De Andrade, who pulled a go-ahead, two-run double down the left-field line. Center fielder Jose Salas then sent a screaming line drive over the foul pole in right for a three-run home run, his second long ball in as many games. Mercedes notched one more RBI single for good measure, bringing the Kernels to their final total of 11 runs, as 11 hitters came to the plate in that seventh inning.

South Bend pulled a run back in the top of the eighth, as Hallquist tripled and scored on Olivo’s third hit of the night, an RBI single. Olivo did a little bit of everything out of the leadoff spot on Saturday, going 3-for-4 with a walk, an RBI, two stolen bases, and a run scored. All of that occurred in a losing effort, though, as right-hander Cole Peschl struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning to end the game.

Still leading the set 3-2, the Cubs will try again to take the series from the Kernels at 2:05 PM ET on Sunday, July 12. Left-hander Cole Reynolds is scheduled to start for South Bend against Cedar Rapids lefty Dasan Hill.