South Bend advances to MWL finals; will face CR or Clinton

Posted on September 8, 2019 by Craig Wieczorkiewicz

The South Bend Cubs celebrate after clinching a trip to this year’s Midwest League Championship Series. (Photo by Casey McDonald/South Bend Cubs)

The South Bend Cubs beat the Great Lakes Loons 7-3 Sunday to advance to this year’s Midwest League Championship Series. They will face the winner of Monday’s game between the Cedar Rapids Kernels and the Clinton LumberKings.

Nelson Maldonado drove in four of South Bend’s runs, on an RBI single, a two-run double, and a sacrifice fly. Clayton Daniel had three hits and an RBI. Levi Jordan had three hits and a walk.

This is South Bend’s first trip to the MWL finals since 2013, when they were affiliated with the Arizona Diamondbacks and known as the Silver Hawks. They were swept by the Quad Cities River Bandits in that series.

South Bend has been affiliated with the Chicago Cubs since the 2015 season. The last time a Cubs affiliate won the MWL championship was 2014, when the Kane County Cougars swept through the playoffs after posting the best winning percentage in affiliated baseball.

South Bend last won a MWL championship in 2005. Their opponent in this year’s title series will be determined Monday.

The LumberKings were three outs away from advancing to this year’s finals, but the Kernels rallied for two runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to win Sunday’s game 3-2. The tying run was driven in by Tyler Webb, who went 3-for-3 with a double and a walk. The winning run was driven in by DaShawn Keirsey, who had two hits and two RBI.

The decisive Game 3 will be played at Cedar Rapids, beginning at 6:35 p.m. CST. Neither team has won a MWL championship since the 1990s (Clinton in 1991, Cedar Rapids in 1994), but both have played in the finals in the past five years (Clinton in 2016, Cedar Rapids in 2015).

Interestingly, when the LumberKings went to the MWL Championship Series in 2016, they advanced by beating the Kernels 1-0 in an 11-inning Game 3 of the Western Division finals. Will history repeat itself, or will the Kernels come out on top this time? We’ll find out Monday night!

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Posted in 2013 Playoffs, 2014 Playoffs, 2015 Playoffs, 2016 Playoffs, 2019 Playoffs, Cedar Rapids Kernels, Clinton LumberKings, Great Lakes Loons, Kane County Cougars, Midwest League, Quad Cities River Bandits, South Bend Silver Hawks | Leave a comment

Clinton, South Bend win as 2nd round of MWL playoffs begins

Posted on September 7, 2019 by Craig Wieczorkiewicz

Andy Weber had two hits and two RBI for the South Bend Cubs in Game 1 of the Eastern Division finals. (Photo by Craig Wieczorkiewicz/The Midwest League Traveler)

The Clinton LumberKings and the South Bend Cubs took early leads in the second round of the Midwest League playoffs Saturday, beating the Cedar Rapids Kernels and the Great Lakes Loons, respectively.

The LumberKings won 4-0 at home, with the Clinton bats backing up a pitching gem. Starter Josh Roberson allowed only three hits while striking out 10 and walking none in five innings. Manuel Rodriguez allowed one hit, walked one, and struck out two in 3.1 innings before Zach Wolf shut the door with a perfect 9th inning that included two strikeouts.

Evan Edwards hit a two-run homer.

Game 2 of the best-of-three Western Division finals will be played Sunday in Cedar Rapids.

South Bend won 6-4 at home after staking out a 4-0 lead in the 2nd inning and adding two more runs in the bottom of the 6th. Andy Weber had two hits, including a two-run single, for the Cubs. Jair Camargo hit a solo homer for the Loons.

Game 2 of the Eastern Division finals will be played Sunday in Midland, Mich.

Posted in 2019 Playoffs, Cedar Rapids Kernels, Clinton LumberKings, Great Lakes Loons, Midwest League, South Bend Silver Hawks | Leave a comment

MWL playoffs: Loons, Kernels advance to 2nd round

Posted on September 6, 2019 by Craig Wieczorkiewicz

Gabe Snyder homered and doubled for the Cedar Rapids Kernels on Friday. (Photo by Craig Wieczorkiewicz/The Midwest League Traveler)

The series matchups for Round 2 of the Midwest League playoffs are set after the Great Lakes Loons and the Cedar Rapids Kernels won Friday.

The Loons beat the Lake County Captains 5-0 at Great Lakes. Brandon Lewis drove in four of those runs with a pair of homers. Winning pitcher Jose Chacin scattered three hits and two walks while striking out three batters in seven innings.

The Loons will face the South Bend Cubs in the Eastern Division finals, which begin Saturday.

The Kernels beat the River Bandits 4-2 at Quad Cities. Gabe Snyder hit a solo homer and a double for the Kernels. Winning pitcher Josh Winder gave up six hits and walked none while striking out seven batters in six scoreless innings. Jose Alberto Rivera, who pitched the final five innings for the River Bandits, allowed one run on four hits and a walk, and struck out 13.

The Kernels are the first MWL team to reach the league semifinals for six consecutive years since the Waterloo Royals/Indians did so from 1975 to 1981. Cedar Rapids will face the Clinton LumberKings in the Western Division finals, which begin Saturday.

Moran Ks Moran in MLB debut

LHP Brian Moran made his major-league debut in relief for the Miami Marlins on Thursday and struck out his brother, Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Colin Moran, for his first big-league K. He faced four batters in his one inning of work, with the only blemish being a hit-by-pitch.

Both Moran brothers played in the Midwest League. Brian Moran appeared in 34 games for the 2009-10 LumberKings, cumulatively going 4-4 with a 1.83 ERA, three saves, 65 strikeouts and 13 walks in 59 innings. Colin Moran rehabbed with the River Bandits in 2017, playing in the last series of the regular season and throughout the postseason. Quad Cities won the MWL championship that year.

Colin Moran did a rehab stint with the Quad Cities River Bandits in 2017, when he played for the Houston Astros. (Photo by Craig Wieczorkiewicz/The Midwest League Traveler)

Mejias-Brean makes MLB debut

Former Dayton Dragons corner infielder Seth Mejias-Brean made his MLB debut for the San Diego Padres on Wednesday. He entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the 9th inning and grounded out in his only at-bat.

Mejias-Brean, an eighth-round draft pick of the Cincinnati Reds in 2012, played 127 games with the Dragons in 2013. He batted .305 with 10 homers, 35 doubles and 79 RBI.

Seth Mejias-Brean played for the Dayton Dragons in 2013. (Photo by Craig Wieczorkiewicz/The Midwest League Traveler)

RIP Chris Duncan

Former St. Louis Cardinals player Chris Duncan died Friday after years of battling brain cancer. He was 38.

A first-round draft pick of the Cardinals in 1999, Duncan played a total of 331 games with the Peoria Chiefs in 2000, 2001 and 2002. He cumulatively batted .274 with 37 home runs, 82 doubles and 191 RBI in the Midwest League. The Chiefs won the MWL championship in 2002; future major-leaguers Yadier Molina and Dan Haren also played for the team that year.

Posted in 2017 Playoffs, 2019 Playoffs, Cedar Rapids Kernels, Clinton LumberKings, Dayton Dragons, Great Lakes Loons, Lake County Captains, Midwest League, Peoria Chiefs, Quad Cities River Bandits, South Bend Silver Hawks | Leave a comment

MWL playoffs: LumberKings, Cubs advance to 2nd round

Posted on September 5, 2019 by Craig Wieczorkiewicz

The Clinton LumberKings and the South Bend Cubs completed series sweeps Thursday to advance to the second round of the Midwest League playoffs. Both teams have to wait until Friday to learn who their opponents will be, as the remaining two series will be decided then.

Clinton LumberKings 10, Kane County Cougars 1

RHP Jake Walters was dominant for the LumberKings, allowing only one unearned run and two walks in seven no-hit innings. He struck out four. Dominic Fletcher ended the no-hit bid with an infield single with two outs in the bottom of the 8th. That turned out to be Kane County’s only hit of the game.

Will Banfield led Clinton’s offense with three hits, including two doubles, and four runs batted in. Kameron Misner and Peyton Burdick also had three-hit games for the LumberKings.

South Bend Cubs 7, Bowling Green Hot Rods 4

This game was a back-and-forth affair until the Cubs scored four unanswered runs in the top of the 9th inning. Jake Slaughter drove in three runs for South Bend; teammates Brennan Davis, Cole Roederer and Nelson Velazquez each had three-hit games.

Erik Ostberg had two hits and two RBI for the Hot Rods.

Cole Roederer had three hits, a walk, and one RBI for the South Bend Cubs on Thursday. (Photo by Craig Wieczorkiewicz/The Midwest League Traveler)

Lake County Captains 4, Great Lakes Loons 0

The Captains tallied a quartet of runs in the top of the 9th to score the game’s only runs. Daniel Schneemann singled home two runs, Jonathan Englemann drove in one on a groundout, and the fourth run scored on a throwing error.

Captains RHP Ethan Hankins scattered three hits and three walks while striking out eight in 3.1 scoreless innings. Lake County relievers Kyle Marman and Jake Miednik each struck out four.

Cedar Rapids Kernels 2, Quad Cities River Bandits 1

Kernels RHP Matt Canterino took a perfect game into the 5th inning and got a no-decision in this pitchers duel that Cedar Rapids won to force a Game 3 on Friday. Canterino allowed one run on two hits, struck out eight, and walked none in five innings.

River Bandits RHP Brett Daniels gave up two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out 10 in 6.1 innings.

Jared Akins doubled home the winning run for the Kernels in the top of the 7th inning. (Photo by Craig Wieczorkiewicz/The Midwest League Traveler)

Posted in 2019 Playoffs, Bowling Green Hot Rods, Cedar Rapids Kernels, Clinton LumberKings, Great Lakes Loons, Kane County Cougars, Lake County Captains, Midwest League, Quad Cities River Bandits, South Bend Silver Hawks | Leave a comment

Burdick named MWL Player of the Month for August

Posted on September 5, 2019 by Craig Wieczorkiewicz

Clinton LumberKings outfielder Peyton Burdick was named the Midwest League Player of the Month for August. Here is what Minor League Baseball wrote about him in its press release:

Clinton LumberKings (Marlins) outfielder Peyton Burdick batted .337 while leading the league in runs (26), RBI (30), on-base percentage (.458), slugging percentage (.632) and OPS (1.090). He finished second in home runs (six) and third in total bases (60). On Aug. 12, Burdick finished a 10-game hit streak with a two-homer game during which he batted in six of Clinton’s seven total runs. Burdick, 22, was selected by Miami in the third round of the 2019 first-year player draft out of Wright State University.

Burdick batted .307 with 10 homers, 20 doubles, three triples and 59 RBI in 63 games with the LumberKings during the regular season.

Fermin, Reed named MWL players of week

Lake County Captains middle infielder Jose Fermin and Clinton LumberKings RHP Remey Reed respectively were named the Midwest League’s offensive player and pitcher of the week for the period of August 26 to September 2.

During that time, Fermin batted .500 (10-for-20) with three extra-base hits, seven runs batted in, four runs scored, four stolen bases, and one walk in five games. The Cleveland Indians prospect batted .293 with 20 extra-base hits, 41 RBI and 28 stolen bases in 105 games with the Captains this season.

Reed earned his award for his start against the Burlington Bees on Sunday. He struck out seven without allowing a hit, run or walk in six innings. During the regular season, the Miami Marlins farmhand made nine starts for the LumberKings, going 4-3 with a 3.28 ERA, 43 strikeouts and 10 walks in 49.1 innings.

Clinton LumberKings RHP Remey Reed was named the MWL pitcher of the week for Aug. 26-Sept. 2. (Photo courtesy of the LumberKings)

Posted in Burlington Bees, Clinton LumberKings, Lake County Captains, Midwest League | Leave a comment