Cougars Come Back to Win Series
August 8, 2024 - American Association (AA)
Kane County Cougars News Release
GENEVA, Ill. - The Kane County Cougars treated the largest crowd of the season to a dramatic comeback victory, as the Cougars dug out of a 5-0 hole to top the Milwaukee Milkmen 9-7 on Thursday night at Northwestern Medicine Field. 8,796 fans were in attendance for "Outer Banks Night" in Geneva.
Milwaukee (37-40) jumped out to an early lead against Cougars' (45-33) starter Garrett Williams. The Milkmen put up three runs in the first inning, as Willie Escala, Jaylin Davis, and Oscar Santos each picked up RBI singles in the opening frame.
The Milkmen added to the lead in the top of the second. Reggie Pruitt Jr. led off the inning with a walk before stealing second. Two batters later, Escala drove in his second run of the ballgame with a single that made it 4-0. Later in the inning, Davis picked up another RBI with a single that scored Escala to make it 5-0.
In the bottom of the third, the Cougars comeback effort began. Facing Milwaukee starter Davis Welch, Armond Upshaw worked a walk before Alex McGarry singled to put runners at the corners. Cornelius Randolph then grounded into a fielder's choice to score the first Cougar run of the night, and an errant throw moved McGarry to third and Randolph to second. Two batters later, Claudio Finol hit a line drive single to score McGarry and make it 5-2.
Milwaukee added a run in the top of the sixth on a single by Chase Estep that made it 6-2. However, A.J. Jones did a fantastic job in long relief to keep the Cougars in the ballgame. The right-hander limited Milwaukee to one run on two hits with four strikeouts against one walk.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Cougars tied it up. Facing Brody Sorenson, Simon Reid led off the inning with a single before reaching second on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Upshaw hit another single to put runners at the corners. McGarry then got in on the action with a single of his own to score Reid and make it 6-3. Randolph then hit a sacrifice fly to score Upshaw and pull the Cougars within two runs. Todd Lott kept the rally going with another single to put two runners on for Finol. The Cougar third baseman came through with a clutch hit to right-center field off Mark Simon (2-2) that scored McGarry and Lott to tie the game at six.
One inning later, the Cougars took the lead. With one out, Jonah Davis ripped a double to right-center. Then, Reid came through again with a single through the middle that scored Davis to make it 7-6.
In the bottom of the eighth, Kane County added some insurance against Ben Gerl. McGarry led off the inning with a double. Two batters later, Lott cracked an opposite-field triple to give the Cougars an 8-6 edge. Lott finished the night 3-for-5 with an RBI. Finol drove in the final Cougar run of the night with a sacrifice fly to make it 9-6. Finol finished the night 2-for-3 with four RBI.
Along with Jones, the rest of the bullpen provided quality work. CJ Carter (3-1) earned the win with 0.2 innings of scoreless work in the seventh. After Carter, Logan Nissen pitched a perfect eighth inning with two strikeouts to keep the Cougars in front. In the ninth, Tyler Beardsley allowed one run on a single by Erik Ostberg, but ultimately earned his seventh save of the season by striking out Jose Sermo to secure the 9-7 win.
The Cougars will now hit the road for a six-game road trip with three games each against the Gary SouthShore Railcats and Sioux City Explorers. Kane County returns home for a three-game set with the Lake Country DockHounds beginning Friday, August 16. For tickets and more information call 630-232-8811 or visit kccougars.com/tickets.
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