By Mike Monaco

SOUTH BEND — On a comfortable summer night underneath clear blue skies, the South Bend Cubs set a new single-game franchise attendance record of 8,004 on Friday at Four Winds Field.

“Tonight is another exciting night and another great evening in South Bend Cubs history,” South Bend Cubs team president Joe Hart said. “While it’s only been a short couple months as a Cubs affiliate, it’s extremely exciting to see the community just continue to come out and support the local organization. And to draw over 8,000 people, which is an all-time record, is pretty humbling and something that we’re very excited about for the community.”

South Bend initially set a single-game record April 18, when 7,575 fans were on hand at Four Winds Field. Previously, the single-game record was 7,287, a mark set in July 2013.

The Opening Night attendance of 7,086 marked a franchise record for a season opener.

In 2014, South Bend set a new single-season total attendance record (258,836).

Through 32 home dates at Four Winds Field, South Bend’s average attendance is 4,580 — a 22 percent increase from the 2014 campaign.

This week, Four Winds Field reached the semifinals of Ballpark Digest’s search for the best single-A ballparks in minor-league baseball. South Bend advanced from the 32-team bracket into the final four and is currently matched up with Quad Cities’ Modern Woodmen Park. Voting ends Friday at 11 p.m., with the final round beginning Saturday morning.

The Cubs return to Four Winds Field on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. ET for the middle game with West Michigan.