South Bend Cubs beat Beloit in home opener at Four Winds Field

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- After opening weekend was postponed because of unsafe infield conditions following heavy rain, the South Bend Cubs finally made their home debut Tuesday and delivered a 5-1 win over the Beloit Sky Carps. The victory moved South Bend to 5-2 on the season and kept the Cubs in first place in the Midwest League West.  

Tuesday also featured Tail Waggin’ Tuesday, one of the team’s early season promotions, as fans were allowed to bring their furry friends to the ballpark for the 7:05 p.m. first pitch.  

Owen Ayers gave the Cubs the lead in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run homer to right center field. It was his second home run in as many games. And then, the Cubs’ pitching staff handled the rest.

Right-hander Brooks Caple was sharp again, retiring the first 15 batters he faced and striking out nine over five 2/3 innings while allowing one run. Beloit managed only two hits all night. Grayson Moore came on in relief and helped protect the lead, and Alfredo Romero closed it out with three hitless innings for his second save of the season.  

Caple said the strong start has been encouraging, but he knows there is a long way to go.

“I was trying to get ahead the best I can and win one counts and just trust what I had,” Caple said. “We had a really good team out there, defense, couldn’t have done it without them, offense was just stacking hits. Off to a hot start but it’s a long season.”

The Cubs have now won four straight games and continue their six-game series against Beloit on Wednesday night at Four Winds Field.