Cougars rally but fall

BELOIT, Wis. — Trailing 6-0, Kane County battled back to tie the host Beloit Snappers at 6-6, but the Cougars eventually fell 8-6 on Wednesday night at Pohlman Field.

In the fifth, the Cougars (53-55, 19-19) began their rally against Snappers starter Taylor Rogers when Dean Espy hit a solo home run. The Cougars collected 3 straight singles after Henry Moreno was hit by a pitch to score 3 more runs. Justin Trapp delivered a 2-run hit and scored on Danny Mateo’s fielder’s choice. Mateo tied the contest at 6-6 in the seventh with a bloop RBI single that drove home Tim Ferguson.

But the Cougars’ Cody Fassold (1-3) walked the first man in the seventh, Kennys Vargas, who scored on a sacrifice fly by JD Williams. Tyler Grimes tripled and scored on Roberts’ single in the eighth to put the Snappers ahead by a pair.

Zach Jones earned a save by helping Mason Melotakis (2-1) out of a jam in the eighth, recording the final five outs in a row.

Miguel Sano had launched a 3-run homer in the bottom of the first off Bryan Brickhouse to give the Snappers (57-51, 18-20) the lead. Sano added a 2-run double in the bottom of the second to drive home Nate Roberts and Wang-Wei Lin. Brickhouse lasted 4 innings, allowing 6 runs.