Cougars fall 6-1

A pair of 2-run homers and a stellar start from lefty Kyle Hald pushed the Quad Cities River Bandits to a 6-1 victory over the Kane County Cougars on Friday night at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark.

David Medina got the first hit of the game for the River Bandits (45-39, 10-5) with two outs in the top of the second as he singled in front of Anthony Melchionda, who blasted a 2-run shot in his first at-bat wearing a Quad Cities uniform to make it 2-0.

Kane County (43-42, 9-6) got 1 of the runs back in the bottom of the second as Michael Antonio singled and scored on Alex Llanos' double.

Llanos was thrown out at third base in an attempt to stretch it into a triple, and the Cougars did not have another runner in scoring position the rest of the night.

Hald (4-4) was strong through his 7 innings, allowing 5 hits while striking out seven and walking one. Kellen Moen (3-5) lasted 6 innings for the Cougars as he surrendered 2 more runs in the sixth.

Andrew Triggs worked 2 innings out of the Cougars' bullpen and allowed a 2-run homer to Anthony Garcia in the eighth to complete the scoring. Travis Miller recorded the final six outs for the River Bandits.