Cougars roll to 14-5 victory

BELOIT, Wis. - The Kane County Cougars (19-19) kept their foot on the gas pedal as the offense paced 20 hits against the Beloit Snappers (15-23) to stretch the winning streak to four games. Monday night's 14-5 victory at Pohlman Field pushed the Cougars to .500 for this first time in 2015.

Down 3-1 in the sixth inning, the Cougars used one of their 5-run innings to grab a lead. After knocking Beloit's start Dustin Driver out of the game by loading the bases, Grant Heyman tied up the contest with a 2-run single. Stryker Trahan followed up with a 3-run home run over the center field batter's eye that stands 380 feet from home plate. The Cougars led 6-3 but still had plenty more offense in them.

After scoring 9 two-out runs in the final two games of the Wisconsin series, the Cougars continued the trend with a 5-run seventh. Batting around for the second straight inning, Heyman, Ryan Gebhardt and Colin Bray all recorded RBIs with two-outs, for an 11-3 lead.

The offense didn't stop in the ninth inning. Heyman did the most damage once again with a two-run knock, making it 14-5 Cougars.

Defense also came through for the Cougars. Along with no errors, outstanding plays by Gebhardt and Fernery Ozuna prevented extra hits for the Snappers.

Despite allowing 5 runs, the Cougars' pitching staff surrendered just 3 hits. Starter Ethan Elias (4-1) was one out away from another quality outing. The right-hander's main blemish was a 3-run homer in the third that was helped by 3 walks in the inning. Jency Solis used one pitch the finish off a jam in the sixth, while reliever Tom Jameson tossed two perfect frames in the seventh and eighth innings. Luis Ramirez served up a 2-run home run in the ninth, but finished the ballgame.

Corey Miller (2-1) suffered the loss.

The Cougars continue their four-game series in Beloit on Tuesday. Markus Solbach (3-2, 2.85) will take the mound for the Cougars against the Snappers' Kevin Johnson (1-3, 5.16). First pitch in Beloit is 6:30 p.m.