Kane County Cougars squander chances, drop series opener

One rough inning for Brad Keller turned into the difference in Friday night's ballgame as the Kane County Cougars (37-16, 73-48) dropped the series opener to the Quad Cities River Bandits (33-20, 78-43).

Marty Herum provided the first run of the game for the second consecutive day as he singled home Chuck Taylor. After the run, the Cougars failed to score despite having the bases loaded and continued the missed chances by stranding 10 runners on the bases.

Victor Reyes doubled the Cougars' lead in the second with a run-scoring 2-bagger to plate Joe Munoz. The double by Reyes was the final time the Cougars scored as they finished the inning leaving two runners in scoring position.

Keller's last inning started with a single by Ramon Laureano and a walk by Trent Woodward. The River Bandits grabbed their first run as Luis Reynoso put down a bunt and Keller (7-8) fired it wildly. Drew Ferguson and Nick Tanielu each added RBI singles in the frame to put Quad Cities ahead 3-2.

Both bullpens took over as Steve Naemark (1-0) worked two and two-third scoreless frames before Elieser Hernandez tossed the final four frames for his first save of the year.

Cougar relievers Jose Martinez, Luis Ramirez and Zac Curtis also added scoreless innings from the sixth inning on.