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2026 PLAYOFFS

HOW WE GOT HERE The story of the postseason-bound 2026 South Bend Cubs. By: Tyler Reidy

he story of any postseason baseball team is a story worth telling, and that certainly rings true for the 2026 South Bend Cubs. This year’s team set a Cubs franchise record for winning percentage in a half (.629) and became the first Cubs team in 10 years to win a first-half division title. From day one, the roster showed promise under first-year manager Daniel Wasinger, the previous season’s South Bend bench coach. The returners had experienced plenty of success at the end of 2025, leading a 10-win improvement from first half to second half and positioning the Cubs in first place with two weeks remaining in the season. Meanwhile, the newcomers making the jump from Single-A Myrtle Beach had qualified for the Carolina League postseason the previous September, rounding out a group built to win in the Midweek League. South Bend’s quest began on April 7 in Peoria, where the 2025 team’s postseason push had been undone by a late-August sweep. These Cubs had different ideas, winning three consecutive games on the weekend to steal a 4-2 series win and set the tone for ... continued on next page.

the season. Their first victory of the year on April 8 doubled as No. 2500 in franchise history, and it served as the opening act for right-hander Brooks Caple in his outstanding April. An inconsistent High-A starter in 2025, Caple pitched like an ace to begin 2026, earning Midwest League Pitcher of the Week honors for April 6-12 and Pitcher of the Month distinction for April. Meanwhile, one of Caple’s battery mates put together a two-week stretch rivaling the greatest in South Bend Cubs history. Catcher Owen Ayers, now one of the top Chicago Cubs prospects, needed only 11 High-A games before his promotion to Knoxville; he homered six times in those 11 games. Along the way, Ayers tied a South Bend Cubs record by hitting a home run in four consecutive games, and he became the Midwest League Player of the Week for April 13-19. His two-run blast on April 12 in Peoria, which gave South Bend a lead and series win in the ninth

Owen Ayers (left) awaits Brooks Caple (right) as he walks off the mound after his April 14 start.

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CUBS CONNECTION GAME PROGRAM

inning, let everyone know what the 2026 Cubs were all about. After an 8-3 start to the year, the Cubs shifted into May in a bit of a slide. They went 4-9 between April 19 and May 3, dropping five of six games to Fort Wayne at home at the end of that stretch. Of course, South Bend came out of that rut with arguably the most dominant run by any Midwest League team this year, winning six consecutive series and overtaking first place in the West Division. The surge began with a week against Lansing and the memorable May 8 game, when the Cubs opened their new four-story event building and Christian Olivo became the first player in South Bend Cubs history to have 4 hits, 2 home runs, 6 RBI, and 3 runs in a game. Though the Cubs didn’t officially clinch until June 13, they might as well have wrapped up the West Division from May 12-16 in Appleton. They traveled to face the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers sitting just 2.5 games back of Wisconsin in the West. By the week’s end, the Cubs had outscored the Rattlers 74-22 across five games, practically breaking the opponent’s will and snatching first place. The Cubs scored 25 runs in the Thursday game of that series, and

then they scored 24 on Saturday. The Wisconsin series featured a handful of elite individual performances, starting with that of Kane Kepley. South Bend’s leadoff hitter and center fielder from Opening Day to early August, Kepley went 14-for-25 with 14 runs in Appleton. Overall, in 93 games with South Bend, he totaled a ridiculous 96 walks, 50 stolen bases, and 105 runs, breaking numerous Cubs records. Matt Halbach, the Cubs’ full-year third baseman, also put on a wild performance at Wisconsin, going 5-for-5 with 6 RBI and 5 runs on May 14. The Cubs never looked back from there, widening their division lead as they earned back-to-back 5-1 series wins against West Michigan and Fort Wayne. More South Bend Cubs history occurred during the TinCaps series, as infielder Drew Bowser became the first Cub to crush a grand slam in consecutive games on May 29 and 30. That series also introduced South Bend fans to the incredible Josiah Hartshorn: more on him shortly. Two weeks later, the Cubs were postseason-bound for the first time in four years. They locked up their spot with a 6-4 takedown of Peoria, a game that featured South

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Bend home runs in the first inning. Fittingly, the final out came on a strikeout from left-hander Jackson Brockett, South Bend’s most impressive pitcher in 2026. Arriving in late April as a free agent pickup out of Nebraska, Brockett settled into a role as the Midwest League’s premier long reliever, posting a 7-2 record and 1.79 ERA across 50.1 innings. He’d wrap up his South Bend tenure with Midwest League Pitcher of the Week honors in late July. Also integral to the Cubs’ clinching were outfielder Miguel Useche and shortstop Ty Southisene. A thirdstring catcher last year, Useche returned to South Bend in late April and morphed into a remarkable story. With injuries mounting in May, Useche’s performance forced the hand of Daniel Wasinger, and he became an everyday force in the middle of the lineup, cracking seven home runs in just 26 first-half games. Southisene joined South Bend on a similar timeline in early

Justin Stransky celebrates with his teammates after walking off the Timber Rattlers on July 24.

May, hitting better than .300 behind Kepley before the trade deadline sent him to the Toronto Blue Jays. While the Cubs couldn’t do any more to improve their postseason standing after the June 13 clincher, they still put forth plenty of memorable moments in the second half. The July 24 game sticks out among them as South Bend’s long-awaited first walk-off win in 2026. One might also refer to it as the Justin Stransky game. That night, the Cubs’ catcher jumped over the opposing catcher to score a run in the sixth inning, delivered the walk-off single in a three-run 11th inning, and took a cleat to the face in between. Stransky has played a key role for the Cubs all year on the defensive side, leading the league in baserunners caught stealing. Top-40 Cub prospects Angel Cepeda, Jose Escobar, and Kade Snell have each done their part to keep the offense rolling at a high level. Cepeda has played a phenomenal shortstop since Southisene’s departure. Escobar has belted some of South Bend’s longest home runs while holding his batting average north of .300. Snell has rediscovered his power stroke since ending his six-week stint on the Injured List in mid-July, blasting four home runs in a single series at Lake County. And then there’s Josiah Hartshorn. Since debuting in South Bend as the No. 8 Cubs prospect on May 26, the 19-year-old has become the face of the Chicago Cubs’ Minor League pipeline. The switch-hitter made an instant introduction to the High-A level, hitting eight home runs in his first three weeks; the Midwest ... continued on next page.

2026 PLAYOFFS

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The Cubs take a team photo after clinching the first-half West Division title and a postseason spot on June 13.

League named Hartshorn its Player of the Week for the Cubs’ clinching week in June. Tracking for a 100-RBI season, Hartshorn joined former South Bend right-hander Mason McGwire at the MLB All-Star Futures Game in Philadelphia. The July 12 event marked the first time that two players were pulled from the South Bend roster to represent the Chicago Cubs in the Futures Game. Of course, no memorable season is complete without its fans, and what a year of support it’s been for South Bend Cubs baseball. From celebrating

the postseason clincher in June to breaking the South Bend Cubs single-game attendance record on July 23, Cub fans have brought the energy in droves, making both the 2026 season and the expansion of Four Winds Field a great success. The Cubs will host Game 2 and Game 3 (if necessary) of the West Division Championship Series on September 10 and 11, respectively. Then, if they advance, they would host Game 1 of the Midwest League Championship Series on September 13.

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THE WASI REPORT

First-year South Bend manager Daniel Wasinger discusses the success of the 2026 season. By: Tyler Reidy

s the postseason arrives, South Bend Cubs manager Daniel Wasinger nears the end of an excellent first year at the helm. In the following Q-and-A, Wasinger described his managerial work throughout the season, the highlights of the year, and the team's expectations for the postseason. How are the vibes around the clubhouse as the year winds down and we approach postseason time? "Oh, the vibes are great, and the vibes have been great all year. Winning does definitely help with keeping the vibes high and we've we've done a lot of that this year, but also the culture that we set and the group of guys that we have, the vibes are always high. We have a lot of high-energy players, a lot of guys that love to come to the ballpark, and when you have that, it's easy to come in every single day, get your work in, and we're able to see it translate out on the field in their performance." How have you guys managed the day to day throughout this second half? "We have everything to play for every day. This is the Minor Leagues

where we're trying to develop guys to go and help out a Major League team and win Major league ball games and eventually a World Series. That's always the end goal when it comes to our organization. So when we clinch that first half, it's not a time to go coast and just get ready for September. It's a time that we just buckle down, we do the same thing, nothing changes. We show up every day, we get our work in, we try to get better, whatever it is that we need to get better at. Our staff has done a really good job at relaying that message that we haven't done anything yet. The end goal is to, one, get to the big leagues, but also we need to improve every single day so that way when our playoff time comes, we're the best team possible out there." What have you learned throughout this season about the managerial role? "There's a lot more logistics that go into managing than I initially thought there would be. I knew I'd be good at the day-to-day stuff, the on-field stuff, getting the guys ready to go play and get them better, but it's just all the logistical things that I didn't expect to have to deal with. But once I learned how to deal with those – and I have a system and process in place to deal with all the logistics – once I figured that out, then everything just started to become routine and once you get into that routine, now everything becomes a little bit easier. There's not as many surprises, and you're able to just take things as they come, and you know when you have that system and process in place – ... continued on next page.

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CUBS CONNECTION GAME PROGRAM

say I have to get pulled away to go handle a certain situation – the the system is in place that it could just start running on its own. That's how you know you you've established a pretty good affiliate, when it's able to do that." What were your first impressions of the roster and earlyseason conversations with the team like? "Everybody knew we had a pretty good roster coming in. The messaging was that we haven't accomplished anything and we we're starting from square one just like anybody else, so we’ve got to get out here, get after our work, take every single day, don't take any single day for granted. We’ve got to get out here, and we’ve got to get better because those guys that we're playing against are getting paid too, and what's going to separate us from them is our dedication and our preparation day in and day out." How did you handle the month of May, when you took over first place in the West? "That time was awesome. That time everything was firing on all cylinders. Our pitching was fantastic. Our defense was fantastic. Our offense was doing what they were doing. Everybody saw what our offense was doing, but the underrated part was our pitching

and our defense. We were lights out in all of those categories, and that's the flow state that everybody talks about. That's kind of what we were in at that point, and really nothing changed. The Fort Wayne series (April 28-May 3), they come in, they give us a little kick in the butt, we realize we're not as hot as we think we are, and we still need to come in day in and day out and get better. Once the game starts, we execute the game plan, and once we realize that all we need to do is show up, put in our work, and then go out and execute. Then the game becomes fun and it becomes easier. It's never easy, but it becomes fun and it becomes easier. And you put a lot less pressure on yourself because now I trusted the work that I put in that day. I'm trusting that it's gonna go translate onto the field, and at that point, when you can trust all the work that you've been doing, you go out there and you play freely, and that's when you have your best performances, and that's when you have your best team performance as well." How do you describe the year No. 1 Chicago Cubs prospect Josiah Hartshorn has put together? "Incredible. Just one word is incredible. Jo's an interesting character, but he is one of the smartest

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baseball minds that you'll ever talk to, and being 19 years old is crazy to think about with how he thinks about the game and his knowledge of the game and the way he goes about his business. He knows his swing. He knows what he needs to work on. It's a very mature day-to-day from a 19-year-old with this being his first full season, and it's awesome to watch, and it's awesome to see him grow in maturity. Just as a man, not only as a baseball player, it's been really fun to see Josiah take off." What kind of an impact did everyday leadoff hitter Kane Kepley make while he was in South Bend?

Wasinger speaks during a postgame interview after the Cubs' division-clinching victory on June 13.

CUBS CONNECTION GAME PROGRAM "It was phenomenal. He's an absolute game-changer when you have your leadoff hitter that's walking at a 20% clip or 25% clip, whatever it was, I forget the number. But when your leadoff hitter has quality at bats basically every single time he goes out there, whether he's getting a hit, whether he's walking, then once he's on base, he's a demon on the basepaths, so now the opposing team has to worry about him. He just causes havoc everywhere he's at, whether he's at first base, second base, third base. You've seen some of the plays where he's able to score from third to home on a wild pitch that doesn't kick very far away from the catcher. I mean, he's just a guy that puts pressure on the other team anytime he's out there, and that was so incredible to witness. I feel incredibly lucky that I was able to coach him up for the four months he was here. His impact was enormous, not only on the playing field, but the way he went about his business day in and day out, definitely a lead by example, and he got guys to buy in, and it was awesome having him around." How important were the performances of Owen Ayers and Brooks

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2026 PLAYOFFS

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2026 SOUTH BEND CUBS COACHING STAFF Daniel Wasinger - Manager

Daniel Wasinger enters his first season as manager of the South Bend Cubs, after serving as South Bend’s bench coach in 2025. With South Bend last season, Wasinger also served as the first base coach. He began his coaching career in 2024, joining the Cubs organization as a Development Coach with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. He played two seasons in the Arizona Diamondbacks system in 2018 and 2019. After his time with Arizona, Wasinger continued playing professionally in Independent Baseball and the Mexican Leagues. He was selected by Arizona in the 31st round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of Southeastern Louisiana University.

Nate Spears - Hitting Coach

Nate Spears returns for his third season with the South Bend Cubs as the hitting coach. Spears began his playing career with the Baltimore Orioles, after being selected in the fifth-round of the 2003 MLB Draft. The Fort Myers, Florida native was traded by the Orioles to the Chicago Cubs in the Corey Patterson deal in 2006. Spears played for former South Bend manager Buddy Bailey in 2008 with Double-A Tennessee, and made it to Triple-A Iowa. His career then took him to the Boston Red Sox, where he made his MLB debut. Spears played for Boston in 2011 and 2012.

JC Bonilla - Pitching Coach

Jeancarlos Bonilla joins South Bend after serving as the assistant pitching coach with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans in 2025. Bonilla began working for the Cubs as the assistant pitching coach for their Dominican Summer League team in 2023. He held the same role in the 2024 season. A Bronx, NY native, Bonilla played college baseball at both Lackawanna College and Grambling State University. Bonilla graduated from Grambling State with both a Bachelor’s of General Studies with a minor in History in 2020 and a Master’s degree in Sports Administration in 2022.

Henry Haack - Pitching Coach

Henry Haack played college baseball at Denison University from 2019-2022, where he was a data analytics major. The Evanston, Illinois native put up a 3.34 ERA in 51 total collegiate appearances. Last year, Haack spent the season in the Dominican Republic with the DSL Cubs Academy.

Max Anastasio Development Coach

Chris Pieters Hitting Coach

Maggie Lowenhar Athletic Trainer

Grant Vera Strength and Conditioning

SOUTH BEND CUBS 2026 ROSTER

PITCHERS

LUKE ALWOOD

PIERCE COPPOLA

NOAH EDDERS

JOSTIN FLORENTINO

ANHUAR GARCIA

YOENDRIS JACKSON EDWARDO GONZALEZ KIRKPATRICK MELENDEZ

BRAYLON MYERS

NAZIER MULE

COLE REYNOLDS

ADAM STONE

JP WHEAT

NATE WILLIAMS

ALFREDO ROMERO

ETHAN BELL

BRAYDEN SPEARS

INFIELDERS

CATCHERS

BRENNAN HUDSON

LOGAN POTEET

JUSTIN STRANSKY

MICHAEL CARICO

ANGEL CEPEDA

JOSE ESCOBAR

MATT HALBACH

MICHAEL HALLQUIST

REGGIE PRECIADO 15

OUTFIELDERS ETHAN CONRAD

LEONEL ESPINOZA

JOSIAH HARTSHORN

GEURI LUBO

ALEXEY LUMPUY

Roster updated as of August 26 26,, 2026

KADE SNELL

CUBS CONNECTION GAME PROGRAM ... continued from page 12.

Caple at the start of the year? "It was really exciting to see what Owen did in those two weeks, and it goes back to Owen just being an incredible human being, and when one of your best players is also one of the hardest workers and one of the guys that just strives to get better every single day, and he's not just sitting back on performance, and every day he comes in trying to get a little bit better, it really sets the tone for the rest of the guys of the group where, 'Hey, this is our best guy and he's out here getting after it every single day,' and having that leadership is enormous in having a successful season and a successful team. Brooks just put in the work. He had the stuff last year. There was just a little bit of inconsistencies with execution, pitch execution, and he went out into the offseason and he realized what he needed to work on, and he worked on it. He said, 'This is a high level, the hitters are only going to get better as I go up, so I really need to execute in, you know, whatever counts, whatever situations it may be.' And he went, he did that. That was his focus. He comes out, he does it, dominates, and he gets rewarded with a promotion to Double-A, and he's doing well up there as well. What do you attribute the closeness of this year’s clubhouse to? "I tell all the guys, and especially when the new guys come, I tell them every single time, every single day I want you guys to be able to come here and have fun. Whatever that is, those guys have their own personalities and the clubhouse has

their own personality that differs from mine, my job is to just make sure that they're able to express themselves, but then also draw a line because sometimes when you have a young group, there's a line that they cross, and it's my job to get them back over that line and to realize what that line is. There's only been a couple times where I've had to rein them back, and they know they were going over that line, so once once you're able to establish that line and let them be them, it's easy for them to come in, be excited to get to work, and be excited to hang out with each other. You’ve just gotta let them be themselves and still keep it professional at the same time." How cool has it been leading the Cubs into a new era at Four Winds Field? "It's been awesome. The only thing I can say is it's been awesome. I've been lucky, I'm blessed with the staff that I have, I'm blessed with the players that I've been able to work with, I'm blessed with this facility that we get to work in every day. I'm just grateful to be here and honored." What excites you most about the postseason, and how do you guys have success in that environment? "It's gonna be the same as any other day. We get our work in, we have our game plan, and then we go and execute the game plan. Keep it as simple as that. It's been successful for us all year and just because the environment changed a little bit doesn't mean anything. We go and execute, and we're gonna be in a good spot." Follow us on X & Instagram: @SBCubs

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PLAYOFF TIME MACHINE A look back at the 2019 and 2022 South Bend Cubs Midwest League Championship runs. By: Brendan King

s the South Bend Cubs are in search for the team’s third championship in the last seven seasons, playoff history continues to be made at Four Winds Field. With some of the biggest stars currently playing on the Chicago Cubs roster having won rings with the South Bend Cubs, the next generation currently playing in Downtown South Bend are in search of the next piece of hardware to add to the rich history of this franchise in 2026. Let’s start with the 2019 Midwest League Championship: the South Bend franchise’s first since 2005. South Bend was led by a new manager to begin 2019, Buddy Bailey. The late Minor League Baseball legend, who passed away in September of 2025, had officially completed his full tour of the Chicago Cubs Minor League system with his stop in South Bend. The 2019 South Bend Cubs roster was packed with young talent in the organization. With top prospects at the time such as Brennen Davis, Cole Roederer, and Andy Weber on the roster, a young group of high-level talent needed just a steady voice to steer the ship. That’s

exactly what Bailey provided. So much so, that South Bend went on to go undefeated in the postseason. At the time, there were three rounds in the postseason, as opposed to two now. Having ended the regular season playing at Four Winds Field, the Bowling Green Hot Rods stayed an extra day in town following a mandated off day after the regular season finale. In game one of the first round, South Bend played a low-scoring game, plating two runs in the first inning against the Hot Rods. Thanks to a five scoreless inning start from Faustino Carrera, and just one run combined allowed by the bullpen combination of Ivan Medina, Eugenio Palma, and Brian Glowicki, South Bend took a 1-0 series lead with a 2-1 victory. From there, no off day was scheduled between game one and game two. The next morning, South Bend bussed the six hours down to Kentucky to face the Hot Rods in game two at Bowling Green's ballpark. The Cubs played one of the most clutch games that they had all season, defeating Bowling Green 7-4. The win featured an incredible four-run ninth-inning rally by South Bend, as the Cubs were down to their final three outs of the game. In a game saving performance, Brandon Hughes and right-handed pitcher Brendan King combined for 4.2 shutout innings out of the Cubs bullpen to help sweep the series. South Bend then turned its attention to the East Division Finals. A spot in the Midwest League Championship Series was on the line between the Cubs and ... continued on next page.

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the Great Lakes Loons, Midwest Marlins, was the only team standing League affiliate of the Los Angeles between the Cubs and a ring. With Dodgers. a five-game series scheduled, this Elevate in 2027 with one of sixwas premium hospitality at Four Gameyour oneouting at Four Winds Field a different lookspaces than the first Winds Field. Designed for entertaining family, friends, clients, or co-workers, these featured now Big League righttwo rounds. exclusive VIP areas combine first-class amenities, exceptional service, and some hander Cam Sanders on the bump South Bend received big news of the views in the ballpark. feature to private for thebest Cubs. South Bend got toMost spaces before the access final round got restrooms, started. upgraded food and beverage options, and a comfortable, elevated game-day work right away with a four-run The organization determined experience.ofMinimum ticketAfter purchase Contact a South Bend CubsKendall Account bottom the second. the required. Chicago Cubs right-hander Executive to learn more and reserve your space. Loons scored twice in the middle Graveman was going to join South innings, South Bend earned the two Bend on a rehab assignment. He runs back to keep some key insurwas asked to start game one of ance in-tact. Late into the game, the Championship Series against Glowicki closed down his second Clinton. save of the playoffs to finish off the Game one at Four Winds Field 6-4 victory. featured 3.2 innings of one-run Game two was set the next day baseball thrown by Graveman. in Midland, Michigan. Just like game However, Clinton took their 1-0 one, it was a big start for the Cubs. lead after an inning. South Bend South Bend plated a run in both the evened the game an inning later, first and second thanks to singles and went on to defeat Clinton 3-1 by Nelson Maldonado and Brennen to open up the series. Game two Davis. On the mound, Derek Casey followed a similar script, but for the took the ball in the biggest start first time in the 2019 postseason, of his season. Having been part extra innings were required. In of South Bend’s no-hitter thrown a tight battle, and the game tied earlier in the season, Casey spun at two going to the 10th inning, together four innings of one-run South Bend won the game as Cole baseball to help lead to the 7-3 win. Roederer scored on a walk-off wild Scan the QR Eventually, the Midwest League pitch. Championship Series was set. There just one more win to code towas learn Having gone through the gauntlet close out. I sat more and tonext to Buddy in the against the West Division, the front row of that bus ride to Iowa. reserve your Clinton LumberKings, new Midwest And I’ll never forget talking baseball premium space! League affiliate of the Miami with him that day. Also on the bus

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The 2019 South Bend Cubs celebrate their Midwest League Championship on the field in Clinton.

that day was Graveman, who was scheduled to throw game five of the series if it went that far. Ultimately, it would not. But Graveman decided to still travel to game three: something that nobody on the team ever forgot. Game three came along, and South Bend put together an outstanding performance on September 14. Five innings of shutout baseball from Riley Thompson, along with 10 strikeouts. That paired with home runs by Levi Jordan and Andy Weber. South Bend finished off the 5-0 shutout, with the last catch made in center field on a pop fly by Roederer, and earned the first Midwest League Championship for South Bend as a Chicago Cubs affiliate. “It was the mentality of our players, it was 35 or 38 of us here with 35 or 38 hearts, but there was only one pulse,” Bailey said. “As a team, when you get all those hearts to operate as one pulse, good things are going to happen.” Onto 2022 we went. A new level, and a new challenge in High-A.

South Bend’s skipper was Lance Rymel, the former Chicago Cubs Minor League catcher who was teammates with the likes of Kris Bryant, Javy Baez, and Albert Almora Jr. on his way up the system. The 2022 South Bend roster was packed with talent from the first day to the final day of operations. The Opening Day roster featured future Big League Cubs such as Alexander Canario, Matt Mervis, Owen Caissie, Jordan Wicks, and Daniel Palencia. Eventually, the likes of Pete Crow-Armstrong, Porter Hodge, Luke Little, and Riley Martin joined the fold. Game one of the first round featured a 2-1 victory for the Cubs over the Cedar Rapids Kernels, despite Cedar Rapids scoring a first-inning tally. The Cubs would have to wait until the bottom of the eighth to take the lead thanks three straight hits by Yohendrick Pinango, Pablo Aliendo, and Fabian Pertuz. Jake Reindl secured the save in the 9th inning for the series lead. Games two and three were scheduled in Cedar Rapids. Unlike 2019 with the clean sweep of the postseason, each round for the Cubs in 2022 featured a winner-take-all game three. After losing game two 5-3, South Bend responded in game three with the performance of the year on the mound for Daniel Palencia. The current Cubs closer and World Baseball Classic hero for Venezuela tossed five innings of shutout baseball with eight strikeouts. South Bend gave him plenty of ... continued on next page.

2026 PLAYOFFS

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CUBS CONNECTION GAME PROGRAM

help, having taken a 7-0 lead after six innings. The Cubs won the game 9-3, taking the series With two more wins required for a championship, a highly anticipated game one of the championship arrived at Four Winds Field. Kohl Franklin got the start for South Bend, however, the first game did not go the way of the good guys, even though South Bend led 5-0 after two innings. Lake County had comeback on their minds, and South Bend lost a thriller 11-8. That meant one thing. The Cubs would have to go win two road games in Eastlake, Ohio in order to win it all. Thankfully, a much better combined effort in game two resulted in a 4-3 victory to even the series. Michael McAvene closed down the victory, despite the Captains making it a one-run game in the bottom of the ninth. McAvene ended the game with the tying Lake County run at third base, and the winning run at the plate. With little time to rest, game three was penciled for the next night, September 21. Porter Hodge got the ball for the Cubs and gave the Cubs exactly what they needed. He inherited a 5-0 lead in the third inning and allowed just three runs

in five innings to pace South Bend. Out of the bullpen, Joe Nahas was a hero of the game with three strong innings of relief. The bats backed up the arms, with South Bend receiving three monstrous home runs in the game. Owen Caissie launched a ball that perhaps is still flying to this day over the right field wall, Pablo Aliendo crushed his drive to left, and Luis Verdugo iced it with a homer to straightaway center field. Sheldon Reed got the final three outs in the 9th, including a feed from BJ Murray at first base to end the game, and the celebration was on. For the second time in three seasons the Cubs were Midwest League Champions. “The message to the guys after game one was to never give up,” Manager Lance Rymel said after the final out. “This is a special group. A bunch of warriors.” Two legendary playoff runs, two gigantic championship rings, and two stories of a couple ball clubs that never quit, even when facing adversity. It’s now time for the 2026 Cubs to write their own story. And who knows, maybe in just a few years we’ll be breaking down the biggest moments that happen over the next few weeks.

CUBS CONNECTION GAME PROGRAM

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