SOUTH BEND

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He also didn’t need much run support after the 1st inning.

The Cubs absolutely exploded to begin Game 3 of the Division Series against Cedar Rapids starter Orlando Rodriguez. It was like a freight train with no signs of stopping to start the game. In order, Fabian Pertuz walked, Pete CrowArmstrong singled, Jordan Nwogu was hit by a pitch, Owen Caissie picked up an RBI sac-fly, Luis Verdugo doubled, BJ Murray and Pablo Aliendo singled, and Yohendrick Pinango walked. That march through the lineup gave the Cubs a 4-0 lead, and after the second inning it was 5-0.

That would be all that Palencia needed. He was equally as sharp with five shutout innings, no walks, and eight strikeouts. It was arguably his most electrifying outing of the year. Cedar Rapids did manage to score three runs in the bottom of the 7th, but the Cubs added two more in the 9th to win the game 9-3 and were victorious in the series.

The next step? A waiting game. As the Cubs bused home and celebrated moving to the Championship Series, they watched what was happening in the East Division as to who their next opponent would be. In what was the battle between the Great Lakes Loons and Lake County Captains, it was deter- mined that the duel for the Midwest League Championship would be between South Bend and Lake County.

For the first time in recent playoff memory though for the Cubs, Game 1 did not go their way.

September 18 was a funky night at Four Winds Field. South Bend sent Kohl Franklin to the mound for his first ever High-A playoff start. Franklin began things overwhelmingly positive with a 1-2-3 top of the 1st. The Cubs then got him plenty of run support with five tallies in the bottom of the second inning on hits from Aliendo, Pinango, Made, and Nwogu.

Things couldn’t be better. 5-0 lead, Franklin firing away, big crowd, great environment. The Cubs were on the fast track to a 1-0 Championship lead. However, midway through things took a turn.

Lake County picked up four base hits to start the 4th inning. Lance Rymel would then make a change, and bring in the big southpaw Luke Little. The hit parade continued though for Lake County, and they plated eight combined runs in the middle frames to snatch the momentum away. With two more runs coming in in the 8th and 9th, the home crowd left that evening with a bit of an unsettling feeling with the final score of 11-8.