By MIKE MONACO

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – South Bend couldn’t solve Bowling Green starting pitcher Enderson Franco, as the Hot Rods claimed the series with a 4-1 win over the Cubs on Saturday night at Bowling Green Ballpark.

Franco spun seven shutout innings and allowed just three hits and one walk, while fanning two. The Venezuelan right-hander outdueled South Bend starter Ryan Williams, who began the night with a league-leading 0.35 ERA. Williams allowed two earned runs (four total) in six innings. The former East Carolina standout scattered seven hits, didn’t walk a batter and notched six punchouts.

Bowling Green (19-11) struck for two runs in the bottom of the second thanks to four consecutive one-out hits. Justin Williams singled to left field, and Nick Ciuffo followed with a double to right field. Coty Blanchard then pushed the Hot Rods ahead 1-0 with an RBI infield single, and Mac James scored Ciuffo with a line drive to center field, making the margin 2-0.

The Hot Rods added on two more in the fifth, buoyed by a pair of Cubs errors. Blanchard reached third on an error by South Bend right fielder Yasiel Balaguert. James then cracked a ground ball the legs of Cubs second baseman Chesny Young to score James. Riley Unroe’s infield single then extended the margin to 4-0, as James jogged in from third.

The Cubs (15-15) scored their only run in the ninth inning, as Charcer Burks and Gleyber Torres walked, and Burks scored on an RBI groundout by Chesny Young.

Following its three-game series, South Bend returns home for a four-game series with Lansing starting Monday at 7:05 p.m. ET. Cubs right-hander Jake Stinnett (0-2, 5.85 ERA) is scheduled to oppose Lugnuts righty Chase De Jong (2-2, 3.86 ERA).