Cougars cooled off by Devil Rays

August 29, 2005 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Kane County Cougars News Release

Battle Creek, MI - After smacking 10 home runs in four games against the Swing of the Quad Cities, the Kane County Cougars offense managed one hit through the first seven innings en route to a 10-5 loss against the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays. Starter Joe Scott allowed four unearned runs in the first inning, and Kane County never recovered. The Cougars began the game tied with Beloit for the wild card spot in the Western Division playoff race.

Two errors in the first inning led to four tallies by the Devil Rays, who added one more against Scott in the second for a 5-0 game. The Cougars' right-hander settled down until the sixth, as the home team put five more runs across and forced Scott to leave the game with a 10-0 deficit. He allowed 10 runs (five earned) on 11 hits, walked two and fanned four after no-hitting the Beloit Snappers for seven innings in his previous start.

The Cougars mustered their first base runner of the game against Rays starter Brandon Mann with one out in the fifth and their first hit on Gregorio Petit's double in the sixth. Cliff Pennington's single in the eighth against reliever Romelio Lopez with the bases loaded made it 10-1. Then David Castillo scored on a wild pitch, Luis Perez drove in a teammate with a grounder and Travis Buck doubled in Pennington for a 10-4 game. Jose Pineda trotted home in the ninth on a wild pitch for the 10-5 final.

Game two of the series is Tuesday night at 6:05 CDT. Ryan Ford (12-7, 4.41) takes the mound for the Cougars (32-31) against lefty Jino Gonzalez (5-6, 4.54) for Southwest Michigan (34-29).

Midwest League Stories from August 29, 2005

• Kernels lose opener to Swing, don't lose ground in chase - Cedar Rapids Kernels
• Bees ride Dossett back into win column - Burlington Bees
• Swing tie HR record, hold off Kernels - Quad Cities River Bandits
• Strong pitching leads Chiefs past Beloit 2-1 - Peoria Chiefs
• Timber rattled - Dayton Dragons
• Snappers lose another heartbreaker - Beloit Sky Carp
• Home win streak reaches five for Rays - Southwest Michigan Devil Rays
• Magic number stalls at one, Whitecaps shutout by South Bend - West Michigan Whitecaps
• Cougars cooled off by Devil Rays - Kane County Cougars
• Dragons edge Rattlers - Dayton Dragons
• Ellis returns from DL stint - Fort Wayne TinCaps
• Swing poised to make playoff push - Quad Cities River Bandits
• Right hander Angel Garcia has been placed on the disabled list - Beloit Sky Carp
• Back to school celebration with Staples and Devil Rays - Southwest Michigan Devil Rays
• Silver Hawks sweep L-Kings - South Bend Silver Hawks

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