Lansing - Despite giving up a first-inning home run Saturday night, the Lansing Lugnuts surged to a 3-1 win against South Bend.
Lugnuts right-hander Angel Guzman (5-2) gave up the solo shot to Silver Hawks second baseman Scott Hairston early, but only allowed two more hits in seven innings of work.
“From the beginning of the game, I tried to put the ball down,” Guzman said. “I think my best pitch tonight was the fastball. I had that great command of my fastball and that was the key.”
Guzman struck out six in his fourth consecutive win.
Lansing (20-21) dropped the first game of the series 7-6 to South Bend (16-25) on Wednesday, but rallied to win the last three for the series win.
“I think that’s outstanding,” Lugnuts manager Julio Garcia said. “We’ve been in a slump kind of, to the point that we’ve had trouble, much less, winning one out of the four games. I think it’s great for the guys to start to play well, especially now.”
After settling into a pitching duel with Silver Hawks right-hander Edgar Gonzalez, the Lugnuts remained scoreless until the fourth inning.
Trailing 1-0, Lansing first baseman Brad Bouras tied the game with an RBI-single. But the game remained tied until the sixth, when the Lugnuts took the lead on an RBI-double from left fielder Antoine Cameron. Cameron later scored on a South Bend error.
The California native didn’t enjoy the temperatures, but he did finish 2-for-4.
“It was a curve ball down,” Cameron said of his RBI-single. “It was a lucky swing pretty much. It hooked the corner so (right fielder) J.J. (Johnson) could score.
“We’re getting the swings right now.”
Gonzalez took the loss for the Silver Hawks after allowing eight hits and three runs in six innings. He struck out eight batters.
Lansing right handers B.J. Benik and Eric Brown each pitched an inning to close the game. Brown picked up his ninth save of the year.
The Lugnuts pitching staff allowed just two runs in the last two games of the series.
Cameron said he hopes the momentum will rollover into the next series. The Lugnuts will play the second of a four-game series against the Kane County Cougars today in Geneva, Ill.
“That’s good going onto the road,” Cameron said. “We just need to bring the momentum to Kane County. It’s like our home away from home right there by Chicago.”
