Cubs Fall in Peoria 5-2, Drop out of First Place

Published on August 29, 2025 under Midwest League (MWL)
South Bend Cubs News Release

Peoria, IL – For the first time in the last two weeks, the South Bend Cubs have dropped out of first place in the Midwest League West Division. With Thursday’s 5-2 loss to the Peoria Chiefs, and the Beloit Sky Carp defeating the Cedar Rapids Kernels 3-1, Beloit has taken sole possession of first place in the division with nine games to go.

Each of the first three games at Dozer Park in Peoria has begun with the Chiefs scoring the game’s first run in the bottom of the 1st inning. South Bend has yet to hold a lead in a game this week, and has been outscored 27-5 in the series.

Right-hander Napier Mulé got the start for South Bend, and although the Chiefs scored a run in the 1st, Peoria had an opportunity with the bases loaded, and lined into a double-play to first baseman Brian Kalmer to finish that inning.

Ultimately, the big story of the game was the dominance of Peoria starter Braden Davis. The former Oklahoma Sooner worked 1-2-3 innings in each frame from the 2nd through 5th, and the Chiefs capitalized with two more runs to take a 3-0 lead. Davis struck out eight Cubs in his start, but after a long layoff in the 5th inning, Davis struggled on the mound in the 6th.

South Bend got themselves back in the game in that 6th inning, picking up their first hit via a Christian Hernandez two-run double into the left field corner. Hernandez drove in his brother Alexis Hernandez, and Drew Bowser, who started the inning with a walk and hit-by-pitch against Davis. The Cubs had the tying run at third, and the go-ahead run at first, but failed to score further.

The Peoria bullpen carried the Chiefs the rest of the way, and Peoria came up with two key insurance runs in the bottom of the 7th. Former Notre Dame left-hander Jack Findlay pitched 1.2 innings of shutout relief for the Chiefs, and Mason Burns recorded the final six outs to close down the save.

Out of the Cubs bullpen, Koen Moreno pitched three solid innings, giving up two runs with three strikeouts. Luis Martinez-Gomez added a shutout 8th inning to lower his ERA to 0.66.

With nine games to go, South Bend will look to jump back into a tie for the division lead on Friday night as they try for their first win in the Peoria series. The Cubs are one game back of the Chiefs, and due to Quad Cities losing to Wisconsin, the River Bandits remain 1.5 games back in the division.

First pitch in game four of the series is set for 8:05…