Cougars rally past Snappers

For the second straight night, the Kane County Cougars fell behind early - and by a lot. But this time, the Cougars (10-13) rallied from a 6-0 deficit to beat the Beloit Snappers 9-6 at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark in Geneva on Saturday night.

Cougars starter Jeferson Mejia gave up 3 runs in the first and 3 more in the third. But the Cougars (10-13) answered with 6 runs in the bottom of the third, sending 10 batters to the plate against starter Jordan Schwartz (0-3),

Four Cougars connected on consecutive singles to lead off the inning. After a pair of two-out walks, Stryker Trahan delivered a 2-run single. In the fourth, Cody Regis and Steve McQuail had RBI hits to give the Cougars an 8-6 lead.

After Mejia walked in a run in the fifth. reliever and winning pitcher Ethan Elias (3-0) left the bases loaded with a strikeout and groundout - and the Snappers did not score again. They did load the bases in the ninth against Elias, but his fourth strikeout of the inning that included a runner reaching on a dropped third strike sealed the win.

The series concludes today at 1 p.m. when the Cougars send Brad Keller (0-3, 3.27 ERA) against Kevin Johnson (1-1, 4.