SOUTH BEND – South Bend will live to play another day.

The South Bend Cubs defeated West Michigan, 6-2, at Four Winds Field Thursday to force a third and deciding game in their Eastern Division First Round Series.

Tyler Alamo belted a solo home run with two outs in the sixth off West Michigan reliever Toller Boardman to give the Cubs a 3-2 lead.

Matt Rose followed in the seventh with a long three-run home run to extend the lead to 6-2.

West Michigan opened the scoring in the second inning after RBI singles from Cam Gibson and Joey Havrilak. The Cubs responded with two runs of its own in the bottom half of the second. Eloy Jimenez and Eddy Martinez each singled and moved up a bag after a Vimeal Machin sacrifice bunt. Isaac Paredes then brought Jimenez home on a sacrifice fly and Martinez scored on an Alamo double.

Jose Paulino gave the Cubs six quality innings, earning the win with just the two runs allowed in the second. Paulino struck out two and walked just one, scattering five hits. Casey Bloomquist picked up the three-inning save, giving up just one hit and striking out two. He went one-two-three in the ninth.

Boardman was shouldered with the loss, giving up both homers.

Before the game, Chicago Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts threw out the first pitch. Asked about his impressions of the South Bend facility as well as the franchise as a whole, Ricketts was thoroughly impressed.

“Obviously, there are a lot of Cub fans down here,” Ricketts said. “For us, it’s really about having the best facilities for the players here. You have great fan amenities, and you have community awareness. Which I think is special.

“I’ve traveled through all of the minor leagues, and I’ve been to all of our affiliates,” continued Ricketts. “And this one stands out. It stands out not just because the quality of the facility, which is obviously first class, but just the quality of the game experience for the fans. Everything that the organization does for the city I think is tremendous.”

A pair of ceremonial moments happened during the playoff game. First, South Bend Cubs owner Andrew Berlin, along with team president Joe Hart and Ricketts, displayed the award the Performance Center won as one of the premier baseball facilities in the United States. Hart, along with several players and members of the Jordan Automotive Group, donated over $21,000 to help fight childhood hunger through their Food For Kids Program.

The final game of the series is at Four Winds Field Friday night at 7:35 p.m. Adbert Alzolay (9-4, 4.34) pitches for South Bend against the Whitecaps, which will go with Spenser Watkins (5-3, 3.82).

Elsewhere in the Midwest League playoffs, Great Lakes beat Bowling Green 15-1 to give the Loons a 1-0 series lead. The South Bend-West Michigan winner will play that series’ advancer. On the other side of the bracket, Clinton and Cedar Rapids will meet in the semi-finals, as Clinton knocked out Peoria 4-3 and Cedar Rapids knocked out Wisconsin 3-1.