Cougars Slam to Game 1 Victory over Dogs
Published on September 8, 2025 under American Association (AA)
Kane County Cougars News Release
GENEVA, IL - The bats came alive for the Kane County Cougars in game 1 of the East Division Finals against the Chicago Dogs Monday night at Northwestern Medicine Field. Every member of the Cougars reached base behind 15 hits and 10 runs, an offensive explosion to start the series against the Dogs.
The Cougars (3-1) struck first against Jack Nedrow (0-1) in the bottom of the first. Trendon Craig led off the inning picking up his first hit of the postseason. Josh Allen worked his way aboard on a walk, and that was followed by a single by Marcus Chiu. Craig raced around third and scored to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead. After a deep fly ball to center by Todd Lott moved the runners, Armond Uphsaw scooted a slow roller too short and was thrown out, but Allen crossed home to make the score 2-0. Then, Alex McGarry picked up a single in his first postseason at-bat, scoring Chiu and capping off a three-run first for the Cougars.
In the top of the second, the Dogs (2-1) cut into the lead against Konnor Ash (2-0). TJ Hopkins had a lead-off single, and Chance Sisco followed that up with a single of his own, sending Hopkins to third. Dusty Stroup then shot a ball deep enough into center field that was caught, but scored Hopkins, and made the score 3-1. In the bottom of the inning, the Cougars answered. It was Deja vu for the top of the order with Craig singling, Allen walking, and Chiu singling to load the bases. That brought up Lott, who had the ball explode off his bat and over the wall in left. A grand slam from Lott cleared the bases and ran the score up to 7-1.
But the Dogs wouldn't go down without a fight. In the third inning, Henry Kusiak picked up a single and was later driven in from a sacrifice fly by Jacob Teter to cut the lead to 7-2. In the fourth, Stroup picked up his fourth double of the postseason and reached third on a throwing error during a pickoff attempt. Then, Tripp Clark flew a ball to deep center that was caught but scored Stroup. It was the third sacrifice fly of the game for the Dogs and made the score 7-3. But Kane County picked up a big insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. Nick Dalesandro led the inning off with a triple rolled to the right field wall. That was followed up by Zane Spinn knocking a ball into right-center field, scoring Dalesandro easily and pushing the lead to 8-3.
The door was completely shut in the bottom of the eighth. Dalesandro picked up his second extra-base hit of the game with a lead off double. Spinn then reached on an infield single, and both runners were moved into scoring position after a wild pitch. Craig then stepped up and ripped a grounder back up the middle and into center field, scoring Dalesandro and Spinn, and giving the Cougars the final score of 10-3. Jordan Martinson stepped up in the ninth inning for the Cougars, slamming the door with a 1, 2, 3 inning, and securing the Game 1 victory for Kane County.
The Kane County Cougars will be back for Game 2 of the East Division Championship against the Chicago Dogs Tuesday, September 9th at 6:30 PM at Northwestern Medicine Field. It will be righty Jack Fox on the mound for the Cougars, squaring off against the Dogs righty Steven Lacey. For tickets and more, visit kccougars.com or call 630-232-8811.
American Association Stories from September 8, 2025
- Birds Suffer Walk-Off Loss in Game One of the WDCS - Sioux Falls Canaries
- Cougars Slam to Game 1 Victory over Dogs - Kane County Cougars
- Explorers' Fischbach Named Trainer of the Year - Sioux City Explorers
- Division Championship Series Begin Tonight - AA
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.
