Milkmen Edge Cougars in Rain-Shortened Series Opener
AA Kane County Cougars

Milkmen Edge Cougars in Rain-Shortened Series Opener

Published on July 3, 2026 under American Association (AA)
Kane County Cougars News Release


GENEVA, IL - The Kane County Cougars (23-19) dropped the opener of their weekend series against the Milwaukee Milkmen (27-17), falling 4-3 in a rain-shortened game Friday night at Northwestern Medicine Field.

After a weather delay halted play following the top of the eighth inning, the contest was called official with the score reverting to the end of the seventh inning.

Reese Sharp (3-4) worked around a leadoff double in the first and escaped several early jams before Milwaukee broke through in the third. Consecutive singles by Yordys Valdes and Charlie Marion set the table before Andy Blake lined a two-out RBI single into right, giving the Milkmen a 1-0 lead.

The Cougars answered immediately in the bottom half. Josh Allen singled and stole second before Matt Bottcher drew the first of his three walks. Claudio Finol tied the game with an RBI single through the right side, and Alex McGarry followed with a sacrifice fly to center to put Kane County in front 2-1.

Milwaukee responded in the fourth. Edrick Felix led off with a single before Andrew Sundean drove a game-tying RBI double into the right-center field gap. Valdes followed with another extra-base hit, lining an RBI double off the wall to give the Milkmen a 3-2 advantage.

Sharp finished four innings, allowing three earned runs while striking out five. Graham Firoved followed with a scoreless fifth before Jake Gilbert surrendered a two-out RBI single to Marion in the sixth, extending Milwaukee's lead to 4-2 despite striking out the side in the inning.

The Cougars made one final push in the seventh. Armond Upshaw reached on an infield single, stole second, and scored when Bottcher lined an RBI single into right field to cut the deficit to 4-3. Finol then drove a ball to the right-field wall that appeared destined for extra bases, but Marion made a leaping catch against the wall to preserve the lead. Brady Puckett entered in relief and recorded the final out of the inning to earn his third save.

Bottcher reached base in all four of his plate appearances, drawing three walks and driving in a run, while Allen reached base twice and scored. Milwaukee collected 10 hits in the victory, with Olund, Sundean, Valdes, and Marion combining for eight of them.

The Cougars will continue this series with the Milwaukee Milkmen, tomorrow, July 4th at 6:30 PM at Northwestern Medicine Field. There will be a George Washington bobblehead giveaway for the first 1,500 fans in celebration of the 250th Fourth of July. There will also be postgame fireworks. For more information, visit kccougars.com or call 630-232-8811.

Check out the Kane County Cougars Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Association Stories from July 3, 2026


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.

OurSports Central