Cougars Take Two against DockHounds, Finol Is Walk-Off Hero
August 12, 2025 - American Association (AA)
Kane County Cougars News Release
GENEVA, Ill. - In your not-so-typical double header, the Kane County Cougars were able to take both games against the Lake Country Dockhounds Tuesday afternoon at Northwestern Medicine Field. The first game saw Konnor Ash go the distance in a 10-2 win, while the Cougars, behind Claudio Finol, clawed back in and stole game 1 of this series 7-6.
"Game 1" of today's make-shift double-header was a continuation of a game started back on July 10th between the Cougars (39-43) and the Dockhounds (48-33). In that game, Konnor Ash (7-2) was dealing, striking out four and only allowing one hit through the first four innings of play. At the plate, the Cougars had Ash's back. They scored three runs in the first inning, featuring a 2-RBI double by Armond Upshaw that scored Todd Lott and Marcus Chiu. Upshaw would score on an error to seal the early 3-0 lead. In the third inning, Josh Allen crushed a ball over the left field wall off Dominic Cancellieri (0-1) to give Kane County a 4-0 lead.
That's when the rain suspended the game, and it was left unfinished until today. The Cougars extended their lead in the fifth inning. Trendon Craig singled his way aboard, and then Allen reached on an error. Chiu stepped up and lined a shot into center field that got down for a single, scoring Craig and pushing the lead to 4-0. Lott got involved again after that, roping a ball down the left field line to the wall, scoring Allen easy and Chiu from first base to make the score 7-0. Lott picked up another RBI and second double of the game in the seventh inning, driving in Craig and making the score 8-0. In the eighth inning, Kane County pushed across their ninth and tenth runs of the game off a double by Zane Spinn that scored Robby Martin Jr. Spinn then scored himself after an error on a fly ball to right to give the Cougars a double-digit lead 10-0.
Ash went all nine innings, allowing only run earned runs on two hits while striking out nine. At one point, he retired 18 straight Dockhounds between the stoppage back on July 10th, and the continuation of that game to start the game. The Dockhounds did push two runs across in the ninth, one breaking up the shutout with a double by Brian O'Keefe that scored Daunte Stewart. O'Keefe scored himself on the next at-bat after an error. Ash settled in though with two outs, and forced a ground out to close the show, and finally complete the game from July with a 10-2 win. Despite not pitching today, Cancellieri takes the loss for starting the day back on July 10th, and the Cougars take the series 2-1.
In "game 2", and the technical first game of the series between the Cougars and Dockhounds, it was Kane County once again snagging the early lead. It came at the expense of Gabriel Aguilera who, after retiring the first two batters, hit Chiu with a pitch. Lott then smacked a ball over the third base glove of Aaron Hill and It rolled all the way to the wall. Chiu scored from first and gave the Cougars an early 1-0. After a walk to Armond Upshaw, Claudio Finol belted a ball down the left field line, scoring Lott and Upshaw while pushing the lead to 3-0.
It didn't take long for the Dockhounds to answer off Chris Mazza, however. Brian Rey led off the inning with a double off the center field wall. Freddy Rojas Jr. followed that up by dropping a single into shallow center field, scoring Rey and cutting into the lead 3-1. Westin Muir entered the game in the third inning and retired the first six batters he faced. In the fifth however, he surrendered a double to Derek Maiben. Chavez Young then laid down a bunt, and a wild throw to first that ended up in the Cougars' bullpen scored Maiben and got Young all the way to third and put the Dockhounds within one. That would change on the next at-bat when Ray Zuberer smashed a ball through the infield on the right side, scoring Young and tying the game 3-3. It didn't stop there though. Daunte Stewart placed a ball in the right-center field gap, scoring Zuberer and giving Lake Country their first lead of the game 4-3. As a capper to the big inning, Ryan Hernandez launched his 16th home run of the year over the right field wall, scoring himself and Stuart, making the Dockhound lead 6-3.
After John Kelly (2-1) steadied the ship in the sixth, the Cougars cut into the lead in the bottom of the inning. Upshaw worked a walk to reach first, and on the next pitch picked up his 34th steal of the season to get to second. Finol then roped his second double of the game down the left field line, scoring Upshaw and making the score 6-4. The Dockhounds looked to Robert Gsellman (3-2) to close the show in the seventh. Andy Armstrong picked up a single to start the inning. Craig followed that up with a single of his own, and then Chiu grabbed his first hit of the game to single in Armstrong and cut the lead to 6-5. That brought up Claudio Finol. With two doubles and three RBI already in the game, no at-bat was bigger than his next. Finol smoked a ball back up the middle. Craig scored to tie it, but Chiu took the big turn around third. The throw at the plate came in late, and Chiu scored the walk-off winner. Claudio Finol became a late-game hero to secure the Cougars 7-6 win, and the Cougars sweep on the "double header" for the day.
The Cougars will continue the series against the Dockhounds tomorrow, August 13 th at 6:30 PM at Northwestern Medicine Field. The Cougars will have their righty Vin Timpanelli (6-6, 4.80) against Dockhounds right-hander Dominic Cancellieri (3-1, 4.03). It will be Fan Appreciation Night at the ballpark. For tickets and more, visit kccougars.com or call 630-232-8811.
American Association Stories from August 12, 2025
- Canaries Open Lengthy Roadtrip with Win at Lincoln - Sioux Falls Canaries
- 'Hounds Walked-Off for First Time in '25 - Lake Country DockHounds
- Cougars Take Two against DockHounds, Finol Is Walk-Off Hero - Kane County Cougars
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