Late Surge Leads Cubs Past Kernels 14-3

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - South Bend scored seven runs in the seventh and two in the eighth to grow a two-run lead to an 11-run lead Friday night in a 14-3 win over Cedar Rapids.

The Cubs opened the big scoring night in the bottom of the first inning. A Josiah Hartshorn double and a Kade Snell single put two on for Angel Cepeda, whose RBI single put South Bend on top 1-0. After a walk loaded the bases, an Alexey Lumpuy two-run double and a Justin Stransky sacrifice fly pushed the advantage to 4-0.

In the third, South Bend added one more. A Matt Hallbach single and a Lumpuy double put two on Stransky, who posted a second sac fly to grow the lead to 5-0.

The Kernels got on the board for the first time in the top of the fourth. Jose Salas reached on a single. After a balk moved him to second, a Ramiro Dominguez base hit put him on third before another balk scored him to make it 5-1. A wild pitch then pushed Dominguez to third, and he scored on an Irvin Nunez sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 5-2.

Cedar Rapids added another run in the fifth. Byron Chourio singled to start the frame. He stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on an Eduardo Tait RBI single to lessen the Cubs’ lead to 5-3.

But that was the closest the Kernels would get. South Bend blew it open with seven runs in the seventh after sending 12 batters to the plate in the inning and scored two more in the eighth to grab a 14-3 lead, the score that would be the final.

The loss drops the Kernels to 47-81 on the season. The final series of 2026 continues Saturday at 6:05. Justin Mitrovich gets the start on the mound opposite Pierce Cappola.