4/20, Cougars 7, Peoria 8 (11)

What a messy game tonight turned out to be, the Cougars would get seven runs, ten hits and ten walks and lose. 14 strikeouts and six errors did not help much. Plus the Peoria Chiefs scored eight runs and got 14 hits, in a 8-7 eleven inning game.

Things looked great for the Cougars untill the bottom of the fourth inning when the Chiefs offense would start to get on track. Dan Straily started for the Cougars and lasted into the fifth inning. He would give up seven hits and six runs. Only four of those runs were earned, he walked three and struck out four. Bo Schults and Josh Lansford would give up the other runs.

The offense was lead by Connor Crumbliss who had three hits and two walks. Juan Nunez also had two hits and one walk.

Peoria got the first run in the game in the first inning off of Straily. Hak-Ju Lee led off with a single to left center. Logan Watkins then singled to center. Matt Cerda would reach on a fielder's choice. On the play Crumbliss go thte ball and threw to shortstop Mike Gilmartin for the force out of Watkins. Only problem is Gilmartin droped the ball, which would load the bases. One out later, Justin Bour hit a sacrifice fly to left to score Lee.

The Cougars would break away with five runs in the fourth inning sending eleven men to the plate. With one out, Rashun Dixon singled to shrot. One out later, Leonardo Gil and Gilmartin both walked, which would load the bases. Juan Nunez hit into a fielder choice, on the play the third baseman got beat to the base by Gil, and Dixon scored. Crumbliss would then single to left center to score Gil and Gilmartin. Peoria would then bring in a reliever, Tim Clubb came in for starter Jeff Antigua. Tyreace House greated him with a single up the middle to score Nunez. Myrio Richard then singled to left to score Crumbliss. Max Stassi then walked to reload the bases. Dixon then grounded out to the pitcher to end the inning.

Things were looking very good for the Cougars untill the bottom of the inning when they gave back three of those runs. Bour led off with a walk. Mario Mercedes then singled to right. Bour would make it to third on an error by right fielder Dixon. Mercedes would be out at second trying to advance on the error. Richard Jones then doubled off the left field wall to score Bour. Alvaro Ramirez hit one to left, that left fielder House misplayed allowing Ramirez to get to second Jose Valdez grounded out to second to allow Jones to score and Ramirez to get to third. Lee then tried to use a squeeze play to get Ramirez in from third. He would bunt through the ball and Nunez threw to third. The throw from Nunez went into left field allowing Ramirez to score.

Kane County did come back with two more runs in the fifth inning. Chris Affinito led off the inning with a walk. Gil then doubled down the left field line to get Affinito to third. One out later, the Chiefs would make a pitching change. Andres Quezada came in for Tim Clubb. Quezada promtly walked Nunez to load the bases. Crumbliss would then hit one back to the pitcher that he wouldn't be able to field properly. Affinito scored and the bases remained loaded. House then walked to force in Gil. The way the day went for the Cougars, Richard then hit into an inning ending double play.

The misplays continued in the bottom of the inning for the Cougars as the Chiefs would score twice more. Watkins led off the inning with a walk. Nunez would get Watkins picked off of first base, the only problem is the throw went into right field. Watkins moved to second then would get to third one out later on a wild pitch. Greg Rohan singled to right to score Watkins. Bo Schultz then came in for Straily. Bour greated him with a ball that fell on the warning track in right field. Dixon couldn't find the ball. Rohan would only get to third and Bour made second. Mercedes then grounded out to score Rohan.

At that point the score was 7-6 in favor of the Cougars. The Chiefs tied the game up in the seventh. With two outs. Schults struck out looking the first two hitters of the inning. Rohan then walked. Bour singled to left. Mercedes then singled to right to score Rohan.

Josh Lansford came in for the eleventh inning. Jose Valdez led off the inning with a single to second. Lee then tried to bunt him over, he would pop up the bunt to third. Gil then threw to first and got Valdez doubled off. Watkins would walk. Cerda then doubled down the left field line to score Watkins who got the ball out of the glove of Nunez at home plate to win the game for the Chiefs.

The Cougars had plenty of chances thoughout the game. They got two walks in the first inning but a caught stealing and a inning ending strikeout by Max Stassi stranded the one walk still left on. In the second inning a one out walk to Affinito would be erased by a double play. In the third inning the Cougars got two more runners on base. This time with two one out singles. After that a strikeout and a fly out ended it.

The next best chance was in the eleventh for the Cougars. Richard led off with a single to left. Stassi then reached on a fielder's choice, with Richard out at second. Dixon would do the same thing with a fielder's choice. Dixon then grounded out to first.

Hector Garcia pitched great out of the pen tonight. He went three innings, giving up two hits and getting one strike out. In the eighth he had to get out of some self inflicted trouble. Ramirez bunted one back to him, Garcia fielded the ball then fell down and threw it to first. The ball would get away as Ramirez was coming into first. Ramirez made it all the way to third on the error. Two outs later, Ramirez would be caught off of third by Nunez to end the inning. In the tenth inning Garcia again had to get out of trouble. Bour led off with a single to right. He would then be pitch run for by Jesus Morelli. Mercedes put down the sacrifice bunt to move Morelli over. Jones then grounded one to first to move Morelli to third. Ramirez then flew to left to end the inning.

The Chiefs bullpen of Andres Quezada, Corey Martin, Jeff Beliveau and James Leverton did a nice job of holding the Cougars down. They combined to go 6.2 innings, giving up three hits and walking three. They also struck out seven Cougars. They retired 19 of the last 22 Cougars they faced.


Next Game
4/21 @ Peoria, 10:30 am
Chris Mederos (1-1, 0.71) vs Trey McNutt (1-0, 1.00)