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Kane County Cougars go extras for 4-1 win

BURLINGTON, Iowa - The Kane County Cougars (4-1, 40-33) scored just 1 run through the first nine innings Monday night against the Burlington Bees, but they tripled that output in the 10th for a 4-1 victory at Community Field.

The Cougars have won nine of their last 10 games.

Joe Munoz opened the 10th inning with a triple. Galli Cribbs followed with a single for the Cougars' first lead of the game. After Chuck Taylor singled to put two runners on, Ildemaro Vargas drove in another pair with a double down the right-field line.

Manager Mark Grudzielanek went with left-handed closer Zac Curtis, who picked up his league-leading 15th save by striking out the side in the bottom of the 10th.

Starting pitchers Jeremy Rhoades (Bees) and Brad Keller (Cougars) kept the game scoreless through the first four innings. Burlington scored the game's first run on a Trever Allen RBI single in the fifth. Keller ended the evening with his eighth quality start, going 7 innings with no walks and 5 strikeouts.

A pair of Burlington mistakes allowed the Cougars to find the scoreboard and take Keller off the hook. Victor Reyes' deep flyball to center field led off the eighth inning, but it popped out of the glove of Michael Hermosillo. Taylor followed with a pop fly to shallow right that Allen fired wildly toward home. Reyes scored easily on the error to tie the game.

The Cougars' bullpen picked up right where Keller left off as Luis Ramirez and Jency Solis (2-1) each tossed perfect innings in the eighth and ninth. Six of the last eight Burlington outs were strikeouts.

The Cougars and Bees continue this series Tuesday. Markus Solbach (6-2, 2.78) will take the mound for the Cougars against Burlington's Jake Jewell (4-2, 3.53) with 6:30 p.m. first pitch

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