June 27, 2022 – Midwest League (MWL) – South Bend Cubs News Release
The second half of the Midwest League season is officially off and running and the South Bend Cubs will take their first road trip of half number two starting on Tuesday. South Bend continued their ferocious domination of the Peoria Chiefs, Midwest League affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, at Four Winds Field this past week. A pair of 1-0 victories, two walk-offs, and five wins in six games propelled the Cubs over the Chiefs.
In 12 games against Peoria this year, South Bend has 11 wins. With some confidence and steam in the second half now, the Cubs are set to take on the Beloit Sky Carp in Wisconsin. South Bend last saw Beloit very early in the season at home. It was an April homestand where the weather had not warmed up yet, and the Cubs took four of six games away from the Miami Marlins affiliate.
Beloit certainly struggled to begin the year, as they started the first half with a record of 0-7. Still, they did not panic, and they rebounded brilliantly. To close half number one, the Sky Carp finished right at .500 with a record of 34-34. Not bad for losing for a week straight to begin the campaign.
The Sky Carp’s roster has also remained pretty well in tact through their initial 68 games. And now to start the final half of the season, Beloit is tied for first along with both South Bend and the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. All three of those clubs went 3-0 to end this past week, meaning there’s already a logjam at the top of the Midwest League’s West Division.
Cedar Rapids easily cruised their way to a playoff spot in the first half, winning the division by 4.5 games. The second half may not be as easy for whoever wants the next playoff spot. If the Cubs do well this week, they can set themselves on a path to play consistent and solid baseball over the next couple of months.
Don’t forget, when South Bend won the 2019 Midwest League Championship, they snuck into the playoffs for the second half as the wild card team. The rest was history.
Players to watch on Beloit…
Ynmanol Marinez, INF: If it wasn’t for Robert Hassell III still playing with the Fort Wayne TinCaps, Marinez would currently be the Midwest League’s batting leader. The 21-year-old out of the Dominican Republic heads into this series batting .307, which is just off the pace of Hassell’s .311. Marinez played part of the season last year with Beloit at High-A and struggled, only hitting .234. But back again this season,…
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