Silver Hawks Get Closer, But Still No “W”

SOUTH BEND – While the South Bend Silver Hawks improved in many facets of the game Monday night against the Lake County Captains, unfortunately the result was the same as the Hawks dropped their fifth straight to open the season with a 3-2 loss. For the third time on the year, South Bend took an early lead by scoring a run in the bottom of the first. Matt Davidson picked up the RBI on a groundout to second, scoring David Nick for the 1-0 lead. The Captains took the lead in the third with back-to-back RBI doubles from Roberto Perez and Jeremie Tice with two outs. Greg Folgia added a RBI single with two outs in the fourth, giving the Captains the 3-1 advantage against South Bend starter Dan Taylor (LP, 0-1). The Silver Hawks crept closer in the sixth inning against reliever Chris Jones (WP, 1-0). Matt Davidson reached with one out when right fielder Folgia misplayed a line drive for an error. After advancing to second on a wild pitch, Davidson took third on Bobby Stone’s single to left. Alberto Diaz drove Davidson in with a sacrifice fly, bring the Hawks within one. South Bend would put the tying run on base in each of their final three at-bats, including a runner at third and one out in the seventh, but could not bring it home as the Captains improved to 5-0 in their first season in the Midwest League. Matt Parker (ND) pitched a scoreless 7th and 8th, with Cory Burns (SV, 2) recording the final three outs for the save. The Silver Hawks bullpen enjoyed their best night of the season as Keny Sosa (ND) and Brian Budrow (ND) combined for 4.0 innings of scoreless relief. Bobby Borchering, David Narodowski, and Stone all picked up their first hits of the season on Monday, while Ryan Babineau, Diaz, and Nick saw their hitting streaks come to a close. The final game of the home stand is a School Day at the Cove with a special 10:30 AM start.