Cougars' Rally Falls Short in Game 1
Published on September 9, 2009 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Kane County Cougars News Release
BURLINGTON, Iowa - The Kane County Cougars fell behind early Wednesday night in their playoff opener and never recovered. They lost, 12-7, to the Burlington Bees at Community Field to fall behind one game to none in the best-of-three opening-round series. Kenny Smalley suffered the loss, and Burlington scored in six of its eight offensive frames. The Cougars must win Thursday night to force a Game 3 for Friday.
Smalley (0-1) gave up six runs on seven hits in 1 1/3 innings in the loss. Josue Selenis yielded three runs in 2 2/3 innings, and Shawn Haviland allowed two runs in his two innings, as the Cougars trailed 11-2 after six innings.
After getting two unearned runs against Ivor Hodgson (1-0) in the first six innings, the Cougars showed some life with a five-run seventh-inning rally against the Burlington bullpen. Franklin Hernandez poked a two-run double, Leonardo Gil nailed a two-run triple and Mike Spina belted an RBI single to make it 11-7. The Cougars also had two men on base with no outs in the eighth but could not score, and they loaded the bases in the ninth with one out but did not manage a run. A.J. Huttenlocker gave up a run to the Bees in the bottom of the eighth to account for the 12-7 final.
The Cougars (0-1) and Bees (1-0) battle again Thursday night at 6:30 CT with the series shifting to Elfstrom Stadium. Murphy Smith (2-2, 4.75*) will face Tim Melville (7-7, 3.79*) in a game the Cougars have to win to avoid elimination.
Midwest League Stories from September 9, 2009
- Bees Score 12 Runs in Playoff Opener - Burlington Bees
- Chiefs Rally in Ninth, But Open Playoffs with 6-4 Extra-Inning Loss - Peoria Chiefs
- Loons Playoff Debut a Smashing Success - Great Lakes Loons
- Cougars' Rally Falls Short in Game 1 - Kane County Cougars
- TinCaps' Pitching Dominant in 3-1 Win - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Hawks Held to Two Hits in Game One Loss - South Bend Silver Hawks
- Great Lakes Grabs Game One - West Michigan Whitecaps
- West Bend Mutual and the Snappers Team Up For the United Way - Beloit Sky Carp
- TinCaps Rewrite Franchise Record Book - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Dragons Announce 2010 Schedule - Dayton Dragons
- Rall E. Camel to Appear at Dow Diamond - Great Lakes Loons
- Kernels set playoff roster as Townsend activated; Richards to DL - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- Justin Turner Becomes 38th Former Dragons Player to Reach Majors - Dayton Dragons
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
