Cougars rally past River Bandits

The Kane County Cougars rallied for 5 runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to earn an 8-7 victory over the Quad Cities River Bandits on Friday night at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark in Geneva.

The Cougars (34-47, 4-11) notched back-to-back wins for the first time since June 7-8.

The River Bandits (48-36, 10-5) had scored 3 runs in the top of the eighth to take a 6-3 lead, but a single and 2 walks loaded the bases with Cougars. Marco Hernandez drew an RBI walk and Willson Contreras was hit by a pitch to make it 6-5. Giuseppe Papaccio tied the game with a run-scoring hit and Gioskar Amaya completed the comeback with a 2-run double.

Justin Amlung earned his first save despite allowing a ninth-inning run.

Cougars starter Brian Smith worked 5-plus innings, and Dan Vogelbach and Albert Almora blasted home runs.

The Cougars host the River Bandits today at 6:30 p.m. in the third of their five-game series. Right-hander Jose Rosario (0-4) starts for the Cougars against righty Mike Hauschild (5-1).