AA Kane County Cougars

Cougars Sweep Doubleheader in Wild Fashion

Published on May 31, 2023 under American Association (AA)
Kane County Cougars News Release


GENEVA, Ill. - In a rare scheduled doubleheader, the Kane County Cougars clinched a second straight series victory with a sweep of the Lake Country DockHounds on Wednesday at Northwestern Medicine Field. Kane County earned a 1-0 victory in game one before claiming a walk-off 5-4 win in game two.

Game one resulted in one of the more unique victories in Cougar (8-10) history. Despite not recording a hit against Lake Country (4-13) starter Mike Shawaryn, the Cougars claimed a 1-0 victory. Kane County benefitted from a fantastic outing by starter Jack Fox (3-0). Fox tossed six shutout innings while allowing five hits. The Cougar righty recorded three strikeouts against two walks.

The Cougars scored the lone run of the ballgame in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Cornelius Randolph and Jimmy Kerrigan drew back-to-back walks. After TJ Bennett grounded into a fielder's choice to put runners at the corners, Randolph came home on a wild pitch to score the lone run of the ballgame.

After Fox departed, Daniel Bies pitched a scoreless seventh inning to earn the save. Bies has not allowed an earned run in his first 12 innings of work this season.

In game two, the Cougars once again benefitted from strong starting pitching. Westin Muir allowed just one run on four hits across five innings of work. Muir also struck out four DockHounds with no walks.

At the plate, the Cougars jumped out to an early lead. Josh Allen led off the game with a single into right-center field. Two batters later, Randolph smacked a double down the right field line to score Allen and make it 1-0. Later in the inning, Bennett singled back through the middle to score Randolph and push the lead to 2-0.

Kane County added another run in the bottom of the fourth. Kerrigan led off the frame with a walk before reaching third on a double by Cesar Trejo. Later in the inning, Kerrigan came in to score on a throwing error to make it 3-0. The DockHounds scored the lone run against Muir in the top of the fifth after back-to-back hits by Balke Tiberi and Marcus Chiu, Tiberi came in to score on a double play to make it 3-1.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Cougars added an insurance run on a single by Daniel Wasinger to push the lead to three runs. However, the game would get wacky in the seventh. Facing Keith Rogalla, Tiberi and Chiu drew back-to-back walks. After a strikeout, Pat Demarco belted a three-run homer over the left field wall to tie the game at four.

With the game tied, the Cougars faced Lake Country reliever Jojanse Torres (0-1) in the bottom half. Torres promptly walked Galli Cribbs Jr. and Allen to start the frame. After an Armond Upshaw strikeout, Jonah Davis stepped to the plate. Davis hit a flare to shallow right-center that dropped for a hit. Initially, Galli Cribbs held up at third on the play, but an errant throw from Torres to third base allowed Cribbs to score the winning run. It was the Cougars first walk-off win of the 2023 season.

The Cougars conclude the series with the DockHounds on Thursday night at Northwestern Medicine Field. Thursday's game will be a Thirsty Thursday presented by Miller Lite. For tickets and more information call 630-232-8811 or visit kccougars.com/tickets.

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American Association Stories from May 31, 2023


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