Cougars swept by Lake County
- Article
EASTLAKE, Ohio — With a 6-2 lead and only three outs from a victory in Game 1 of their doubleheader Monday night at Classic Park, the Kane County Cougars allowed 5 runs in the bottom of the seventh in a 7-6 loss to the Lake County Captains before dropping the nightcap 4-2.
Game 1 was tied at 1-1 until the top of the fourth when Dan Vogelbach crushed his third home run of the season to put the Cougars (8-13) on top. Two batters later and after a walk to Jeimer Candelario, Rock Shoulders cracked a 2-run bomb to put the Cougars up by 3.
Felix Pena cruised through 6 innings while surrendering just 2 runs and seemed in line for a convincing victory when Ian Dickson took the ball in the bottom of the seventh.
Dickson walked a pair but also recorded a couple of outs before coughing up a 3-run homer to Leonardo Castillo. LeVon Washington then tripled to knock Dickson out of the game.
Matt Iannazzo (0-1) replaced Dickson and walked Dorssys Paulino before Logan Vick doubled home Washington to even the score at 6-6. Two batters later, Jeremy Lucas singled with the bases loaded to draw in Paulino with the winning run.
In Game 2, the Cougars grabbed another 2-1 advantage on a Vogelbach home run in the fourth against Lake County (8-16) starter Luis Morel. Josh Martin (2-2) replaced Morel from there, and he combined with Louis Head (first save) to not allow another hit the rest of the game.
Michael Heesch (0-2) coughed up a first-inning run before the Captains struck for 3 in the fifth. Robel Garcia doubled to lead off the inning and scored on a fielder's choice groundball off the bat of Paulino. Joe Sever's 2-run double broke the tie as Paulino and Vick scored.
The Cougars and Captains will finish their three-game set Tuesday night at Classic Park with a 5:30 p.m. first pitch.
Right-hander Lendy Castillo (0-1) will start against fellow righty Joe Colon (0-1). The Cougars return to Fifth Third Bank Ballpark on Wednesday with a 6:30 p.m. start against the Bowling Green Hot Rods.
