Cougars blanked by Cedar Rapids

Exhibiting a lack of clutch offense, the Kane County Cougars (11-22, 44-59), behind a strong start from right-hander Max Duval (0-3), lost on RBI hits from the Cedar Rapids Kernels' (20-13, 56-46) Nelson Molina and Sean Miller by a 2-0 final.

A pitcher's duel ensued from the game's first pitch. On the mound for the Cougars it was a career night for Duval. The former Frontier League hurler tossed seven innings of one run baseball punching out a career high nine batters. He spun three double plays, and the only hits he allowed were all singles.

On the other side, it was the same story from right-hander Sam Gibbons (5-3). Gibbons used his corner-to-corner approach to toss six scoreless frames. Gibbons scattered five hits through his appearance, wielding out of jams to keep Cougar runners in scoring position on multiple occasions.

Presented with multiple chances to knock in the game's first run, the Cougars put two men in scoring position in the second frame on base hits from Trevor Mitsui and the hot-hitting Frank Christy. But after a strikeout and groundout, they were stranded. Newly returned Zach Nehrir was left 90 feet away in the fourth, and Gerard Hernandez on second in the following inning. And in the seventh stanza, Frank Christy's lead-off double did not result in any runs for a Cougars team that has only scored two runs so far in the series.