Bullpen Shines in Extra-Inning Victory
Published on May 10, 2014 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Kane County Cougars News Release
BURLINGTON, Iowa- All three games in Burlington featured a strong wind blowing out to favor hitters, but the most noticeable breeze of the series was the one created by the Bees' bats. The Cougars pitching staff combined for 37 strikeouts in a sweep over Burlington. 15 of the punch outs were recorded in Saturday's 2-1 extra inning victory for the Cougars (26-10) over the Bees (16-18) on Saturday at Community Field.
It was once again a low scoring game that began with a Burlington lead early in the contest. Kody Eaves led off the first with a single and scored on Angel Rosa's base hit. The score remained 1-0 Burlington until the sixth thanks to Ryan Etsell's quality start on six innings of one-run baseball. The Burlington defense also helped out Etsell in the fourth, turning the rare triple play. The Cougars threatened with runners at first and second with nobody out. Manager Mark Johnson called for a hit and run on the double steal with Will Remillard at the plate. Remillard lined a pitch right at the second baseman Kody Eaves who flipped to second for the second out and setup a 4-6-3 triple to end the inning.
It was Remillard getting the last laugh in the top of the sixth when he singled home Daniel Lockhart with two outs to get the Cougars on the board and tie the ballgame at one.
Then the bullpens took over.
Paul Blackburn's last inning was his best as he sent down the Bees in order to finish the fifth frame. Jose Arias took over for three innings without a blemish and striking out six batters. On Burlington's end, it was Michael Smith tossing two perfect frames followed by scoreless innings from Ben Carlson and Trevor Foss. James Pugliese started the ninth and put a runner aboard hitting Mike Fish with a pitch. That ended up being the only hitter to reach for Burlington in the last seven innings of the ballgame.
It was 11th inning magic once again for the Cougars when Carlos Penalver led off with a single. Penalver reached third base on Lockhart's sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch. Jordan Hankins put the Cougars on top for the second straight game with a two-out base hit. The 2-1 advantage was the Cougars' first lead of the game.
Pugliese (1-0) finished off the Bees in the 11th with two more strikeouts for his first win. Foss (0-3) suffered the loss.
The Cougars will now enjoy an off day on Sunday, before beginning a three-game series in Beloit. The first game against the Snappers is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. featuring a pitching matchup of Tyler Skulina (1-0, 3.30) and Ronald Hererra (2-3, 2.84). The game can be heard on AM 1280 WBIG and kccougars.com.
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