Cougars complete sweep of Quad Cities

The Cougars used 17 hits to finish off a three-game sweep over the visiting Quad Cities River Bandits and give Daury Torrez his 10th win.

Offense was present all three games for the Cougars (22-17, 70-42) as they connected for double-digit hits for the entire three-game set and finished with a 9-5 victory Sunday at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark.

Once again the Cougars started their offense with a big inning as they scored 3 runs in the second inning. Cael Brockmeyer drove home Jeimer Candelario, who reached on a triple, for the first run. After Chesny Young's double, Jeffrey Baez and Trey Martin's run-scoring groundouts made it 3-0.

Victor Caratini kept his bat going as he picked up another RBI hit with a run-scoring single in the third inning to drive in Daniel Lockhart.

Torrez (10-5) had been stuck on 9 wins since July 3, but he worked 6 innings of 3-run baseball to grab the win. He made two mistakes, and the River Bandits jumped all over them. Chase McDonald powered a 2-run homer over the left-field wall in the fourth, and AJ Reed connected on a solo blast in the sixth.

Brockmeyer joined in on the home run action with his fifth longball of the year, a solo shot in the sixth. The Cougars scored 4 runs in the inning, extending their biggest lead of the series at 6 runs.

Quad Cities tacked on runs in the seventh and ninth against the Cougars' bullpen but weren't able to complete a comeback. Andrew Thurman (5-7) took the loss, allowing 7 runs in 5 innings.

The Cougars now begin the longest road trip of the season. A three-game series in Peoria begins Monday with a 7 p.m. first pitch. Duane Underwood (5-3, 2.52) will start the series against the Chiefs.