MWL1 Kane County Cougars

-- Vargas Fans 17 In Cougar Win

Published on August 20, 2016 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Kane County Cougars News Release


DAVENPORT, Iowa -- Jake Rogers was the only hitter to figure out Kane County Cougar starter Emilio Vargas Saturday night, as the right-hander fanned 17 River Bandits in a 4-2 win at Modern Woodmen Park. The Cougars' (23-32, 56-69) outstanding pitching performance ended a three-game losing skid and gives them a chance to take the series against Quad Cities (27-28, 58-66) on Sunday.

Vargas (4-6) set the tone by striking out the side in the first inning and not allowing a base runner until a one-out infield single by Rogers in the third inning. After that Vargas cruised through the next five frames, retiring 17 straight batters. The Dominican hurler struck out the side in three different innings and set the team and career high with his 12th punch out against Pat Porter in the fifth.

The Cougars offense quickly pounced scoring three runs in the opening frame. Fernery Ozuna belted his fifth homer of the year for a 2-0 Cougars lead. Four batters later Ramon Hernandez tripled home Stephen Dezzi for a 3-0 advantage off of Quad Cities' starter Enrique Chavez (0-1).

Hernandez's RBI three-bagger ended up being the deciding run, but Sergio Alcantara tacked on more insurance with a run scoring double in the eighth.

As Vargas entered the ninth inning, he had retired every River Bandits on strikes at least once except for Rogers. The Quad Cities catcher led off the final frame and launched a fly ball deep to right field for a leadoff triple. After Bobby Wernes reached on an error, that allowed Rogers to score, Vargas left the game to an ovation from the Quad Cities fans. Austin Mason took over and finished the contest despite serving up an RBI single to Dexter McCall. Mason, who picked up a strikeout of his own, earned his first save of 2016.

The Cougars have a chance to take the series in the rubber game against Quad Cities Sunday afternoon. Carlos Hernandez (6-9, 2.65) will take the mound for the Cougars against River Bandits right-hander Yoanys Quiala (2-9, 4.67). First pitch from Modern Woodmen Park is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. Coverage on AM 1280 WBIG begins at 1:00 p.m.

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Midwest League Stories from August 20, 2016


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