South Bend pitcher Bryan Hudson works Sunday against Lake County. (Photos by Emma Reese)

SOUTH BEND – The South Bend Cubs finished the first half of the season on a high note by finally ending their four game losing streak with a commanding 9-3 victory over the Lake County Captains in the final game before the 2017 Midwest League All-Star break.

One night after losing to the Lake County Captains on a home run in the 10th inning, the South Bend Cubs’ offense returned to Four Winds Field poised to get things going early and often to avoid being swept in the final three game series of the first half of the season.

WHAT HAPPENED: In the first inning, Isaac Paredes hit a two-run shot, his fifth homer of the season, to give the Cubs an early 2-0 lead. In the following inning, the Captains second baseman, Kevin Bradley committed a throwing error on a force out attempt, which allowed Michael Cruz to score.

Zack Short was then hit with a pitch and Vimael Machin grounded out to first to allow Roberto Caro to cross the plate for the Cubs’ fourth run in two innings.

Carrying a 4-0 lead into the fourth, South Bend added another pair of runs on another long-ball, this time coming from Machin to give the Cubs a 6-0 lead heading into the fifth inning.

Lake County’s left fielder, Jose Medina then kept the theme of the game going in the top of the fifth inning by hitting a solo shot to cut the Captains deficit to five runs.

In the bottom of the fifth, Chris Pieters got things started with a leadoff double and later scored on Yeiler Peguero’s single as Lake County made their second defensive error of the game. Luis Ayala then added a single of his own with two outs to score Peguero.

Despite the Cubs’ bullpen giving up two runs in the ninth, the Cubs would cruise to the 9-3 victory to give themselves a boost of confidence heading into the second half of the season.

LAUNCHING PAD: Four Winds Field has now seen seven homers in the past two games, five of which have come via Lake County bats. Those five homers come as no surprise, however, as the Captains rank second in the Midwest League in homers (70) this season. By comparison, the Cubs rank 13th in homers (34) out of 16 total teams in the Midwest League.

HUDSON’S FIRST WIN: Having not received a win in his first 10 games started this season, Cubs starter, Bryan Hudson put together a stellar performance and was backed by a high-powered offense in order to receive his first victory of 2017.

In six innings pitched, Hudson held the Captains to one run on six hits while striking out five. Ranked as the Chicago Cubs’ 24th best prospect, Hudson is now 6-6 over two seasons in his professional career