advertisement

Cougars on losing end of 4-game sweep

CLINTON, Iowa - For the third time in the series, the Kane County Cougars (0-4) failed to protect an early lead as the Clinton LumberKings (4-0) finished off a four-game sweep with an 11-5 victory.

In a convincing result, Cougars' starter Emilio Vargas (0-2) was inconsistent on the mound totaling a season best 5 innings but allowing 7 runs including a go-ahead 3-run homer to Luis Liberato in the fifth inning. The Cougars have now lost four in a row, a season high.

A gloomy beginning for the Cougars saw the LumberKings stride to 2-0 lead against Vargas after the first inning. After drawing back-to-back walks to start off their offense, Dalton Kelly's fly ball and subsequent misfire from outfielder Zach Nehrir scored a run. The other tally came on a Logan Taylor base hit RBI.

The lead did not last long for the LumberKings. Capturing their first lead since the second inning of game two, the Cougars Trevor Mitsui and Austin Byler rapped consecutive base hits to commence the second stanza against Clinton hurler Jeffeson Medina (0-3). With both runners in scoring position and 2 outs, Frank Christy belted his first home run of 2016 to deep center field putting the Cougars in front, 3-2.

But in the fourth frame, the LumberKings injected a 3-run home run of their own to grasp their second lead. The dinger was hit on a line drive by Liberato. It was Liberato's second home run all season. In response, the Cougars put up a single tally in the fifth inning. Zach Nehrir notched his first hit and RBI of the game scoring Raymel Flores to cut the deficit to just one run.

Timely and effective as they have been all series, the LumberKings posted a pair of runs for insurance in the home half of the fifth frame. Against a beleaguered Vargas, Clinton picked up a 2-out, 2-RBI single from Conner Hale to open up a 7-4 advantage, their largest lead of the ballgame.

Pouring it on against the Cougars new reliever, Hector Hernandez (0-0), the LumberKings plated four in the seventh broadening their lead to 7 runs. In the inning, Clinton started with 4 consecutive hits, batted around, and forced the Cougars to removed Hernandez from the game for Mason McCullough (0-0). Zach Nehrir managed an RBI base hit in the ninth but that was all.

Vargas sustained his second loss in as many starts as Dylan Silva (3-1) recorded the win for Clinton.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.