Roberto Caro and South Bend found themselves on the short end of another ground rule in a 5-2 loss to Great Lakes Wednesday night. (Photo by Emma Reese)

SOUTH BEND – The South Bend Cubs lost Game 2 of the three game series 5-2 against the Great Lakes Loons while struggling to find their pace on offense and giving up all five of Great Lakes’ runs in the third inning.

With the loss the series is now tied at one game a piece with the final game of South Bend’s home stand at Four Winds Field coming up tomorrow at 7:05 p.m.

WHAT HAPPENED: Starting just his second game of the season, Tyler Peyton worked seamlessly through the first and second innings facing the six-hitter two-inning minimum.

However, things got out of hand in the third as the Loons hit three consecutive singles to lead off the inning and score the first run of the game. Two batters later, Cody Thomas and Carlos Rincon hit back-to-back homers with two outs to give Great Lakes a 5-0 lead.

The Cubs offense struggled through the first four innings as they only gathered three hits in their first 15 at-bats.

In the bottom of the fifth, Luis Ayala singled to start a two out rally that was followed by a scorched fly ball hit by Roberto Caro that appeared to be a home run to right field, but was ruled a triple as the ball caromed off the fence that sits behind the Barefoot Wine Party Patio and bounced back onto the field.

Roberto Caro’s RBI-triple appeared to hit the fence behind the Barefoot Party Patio sign but was ruled a triple instead of a home run

Had the ball disappeared in the space between the set back fence and the Barefoot Wine Party Patio sign, the play would have been ruled a home run, but since the ball bounced off the fence and came back on to the playing surface, the field umpire ruled the ball still in play resulting in Caro’s triple.

While some may argue the play should have been ruled as a home run, the call did not make a difference in the end as Vimael Machin reached Gavin Lux’ throwing error, which allowed Caro to score from third making it a 5-2 ballgame in favor of the Loons.

After the two out rally, the Cubs picked up four more hits through the sixth and seventh innings but could not capitalize on Joe Martanaro’s triple to score their third run of the game.

Overall, the South Bend offense collected eight hits but that was not enough to overcome the Loons’ five-run third inning.

AYALA’S HOT BAT: The Cubs speedy centerfielder went 3-4 with a run scored and a stolen base in Wednesday night’s game. He is now hitting .269 with a .342 OBP and 13 stolen bases.

Since the departure of DJ Wilson due to injury in late May, Ayala has been one of South Bend’s most consistent outfielders next to Caro whom he frequently shares leadoff responsibilities with. In his last five games, Ayala is hitting .378 with four runs scored and three RBI.

GROUND RULES AND ODD CALLS: Tonight marks the second time this season that Four Winds Field has seen a disputable ruling on homeruns concerning the outfield fence.

On June 17, in a game between the Cubs and the Lake County Captains, Junior Soto hit a ball that bounced off the metal fence that sits atop the padded wall in left field, but after the umpires talked it over, the triple was overturned and ruled a home run that tied the game and ultimately led a Cubs extra-inning loss.

As stated in the official Four Winds Field Ground Rules, “Any batted ball that clears the metal railing above the wall is a home run with the exception of the left and right field exposed concrete walls, next to each foul pole. A ball is considered a home run in those areas if the batted ball clears the top of either concrete wall. If a ball becomes lodged between or under padding, it is dead.”