Cougars Storybook Season Ends with Another Championship
AA Kane County Cougars

Cougars Storybook Season Ends with Another Championship

Published on September 20, 2025 under American Association (AA)
Kane County Cougars News Release


Sioux Falls, SD - It was the final game of the American Association season, and Game 5 to decide the winner of the Miles Wolff Cup between the Kane County Cougars and Sioux Falls Canaries.

The Canaries (7-6) got to Jack Fox in the bottom of the second inning. Joe Vos poked a single into right field, and advanced to third after a base hit by Scott Combs. It would be the leadoff man Mike Hart driving a ball down the line for a single, scoring Vos and giving the Canaries the early 1-0 lead. They'd tack on two more off Jake Stevenson. After Vos reached on a fielder's choice, Combs singled him to second. Then Hart struck again with a base hit into right, scoring Vos and pushing the lead to 2-0.

Matt Solter was cruising against the Cougars (8-5) for the first five innings, but they hit pay dirt in the top of the sixth inning. Josh Allen started it off with a base hit and was moved to third after a deep shot by Marcus Chiu bounced off the wall. It would be Todd Lott to drive a ball into center field that was caught, but deep enough to score Allen and cut the lead to 2-1. In the top of the seventh, the Cougars leveled the score. Claudio Finol smacked a single to lead off the inning against Sam Alverado. Nick Dalesandro moved the line with a single of his own. Then, Trendon Craig lifted a ball that landed in left field. Finol flew around the bases and slid into home safe, tying the game 2-2 late.

Once again, the game came down to the wire. In the top of the eighth inning up against Will Levine, Chiu shot a ball off the wall in right field yet again. He slid into second with a lead off double. A couple hitters later, Finol stepped up to the plate. He blooped a single into right field. Chiu sprinted around third and slid safely into home to give the Cougars the late 3-2 lead. Sioux falls had an answer in the bottom of the eighth. Josh Rehwaldt shattered his bat and reached first on an error and later stole second. Then, Combs poked a single off of Jake Gozzo (3-0) into the outfield. Rehwaldt raced around and scored to tie the game at 3 a piece.

Nine innings wasn't enough to decide a winner of the Miles Wolff Cup. Chiu led off the 10th against Ryan Zimmerman (2-1) with a double into left center field. Lott was then able to reach on an error and set up runners at second and third. After Armond Upshaw was intentionally walked, the bases were loaded. It brought up Finol, the soon-to-be-crowned Finals MVP to the plate, and he lived up to the title. With one swing of the bat, Finol bashed a ball into the Sioux Falls sky deep over the left field wall. He just hit a go-ahead grand slam on the biggest stage and gave the Cougars a late 7-4 lead.

The Cougars turned to Konnor Ash and despite giving up a couple of runs, got Combs to roll a grounder to third. Finol flipped to Josh Allen, who tossed it over to Chiu for the final two outs and the Miles Wolff Cup victory. The Cougars became the first back-to-back champions since the Winnipeg Goldeyes in 2017, and the first team with a record under .500 in the regular season to hoist the cup.

For information on next year's team, season, tickets, and more, visit kccougars.com or call 630-232-8811.

Check out the Kane County Cougars Statistics

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American Association Stories from September 20, 2025


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