Cougars get snapped up 8-1

After a three-game sweep over Cedar Rapids and an off-day Tuesday, the Kane County Cougars returned home Wednesday night only to suffer an 8-1 loss against the Beloit Snappers at Elfstrom Stadium.

It was the Cougars’ most lopsided loss of the year. They still lead Clinton by 3 games for the top playoff spot in the Western Division with 19 games left.

Scoreless through five innings, the game turned out to be one of the Cougars’ most frustrating of the season. Offensively they went 1-2-3 just once but stranded 12 runners.

Starter Greg Billo (9-3) suffered the tough-luck loss despite turning in his eighth quality start in 10 outings. He gave up all 3 runs in sixth on a homer to Jairo Perez that came after a flyball to the outfield with two outs dropped in.

The Cougars managed their only run in the sixth against Ryan O’Rourke (5-3) when Jovan Pickett singled with the bases loaded. Billo yielded the 3 runs on 4 hits, walked one and struck out seven in 6 innings. His minor-league-best ERA rose from 1.40 to 1.56.