The Cougars Are Post-Season Bound

Published on September 4, 2010 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Kane County Cougars News Release

GENEVA, Ill. - For the sixth time in eight seasons as an Oakland A's affiliate, the Kane County Cougars are headed to the playoffs. The Cougars clinched a post-season berth Saturday night with their 6-2 win over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and Cedar Rapids' win over Beloit. Clinton also lost in Burlington, so the Cougars own the top playoff spot by 1.5 games over Clinton with two games to play.

The Cougars, who have won four straight and nine of their last 12, took control of the game with a four-run third inning. With the bases-loaded and no outs, Tyreace House nailed a two-run double and Conner Crumbliss scored on an error to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead. House later scampered home from third as the Rattlers threw to first to confirm a strikeout on Leonardo Gil. The Cougars scored two more runs in the fourth, as Jose Crisotomo brought home Jason Christian with an RBI grounder and House singled in Max Stassi to make it 6-1.

Dan Straily (10-7) picked up the win for the Cougars, becoming the 27th pitcher in team history to win 10-plus games in a season. He gave up a run on four hits, walked three and fanned seven over six innings. Ryan Doolittle handled the next two innings, and Kenny Smalley gave up a run in the ninth before striking out Cutter Dykstra to end it.

The Cougars (38-29, 70-66) and Timber Rattlers (31-37, 57-79) play Game 2 of the series Sunday night at 6 CT. Aaron Larsen (0-1, 10.80) will face Efrain Nieves (4-4, 5.27). The game will be broadcast on WBIG 1280-AM and www.kccougars.com with pre-game coverage starting at 5:45 p.m.

Midwest League Stories from September 4, 2010

• Kings Fall Flat in Opener at Burlington - Clinton LumberKings
• Offensive Revival Reduces Magic Number To One - West Michigan Whitecaps
• Loons Hold On for 7-5 Win - Great Lakes Loons
• The Cougars Are Post-Season Bound - Kane County Cougars
• Whitecaps drop TinCaps, 8-3 - Fort Wayne TinCaps
• Straily, Cougars Top Rattlers - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
• 8-2 Loss Stops Streaking Bandits - Quad Cities River Bandits
• Oliveras Homer Keys Dragons' Win - Dayton Dragons
• Hawks Can't Rally a Third Time in 7-5 Loss - South Bend Silver Hawks
• Dragons Promote Satterwhite to Lynchburg - Dayton Dragons
• Lansing at Lake County Postponed - Lansing Lugnuts
• Mitch Blackburn arrives from Arkansas; Young-Il Jung to DL - Cedar Rapids Kernels

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.

Other Recent Kane County Cougars Stories

• Cougars Bounce Back to Even Series with RailCats in 9-4 Victory
• RailCats Power Past Cougars in Series Opener
• Cougars Snap DockHounds' Winning Streak in 8-2 Victory
• Late Rally Falls Short as DockHounds Extend Winning Streak
• Cougars Clinch Series Victory with Shutout of Saltdogs