Cougars win in dramatic fashion
APPLETON, WI. - Down to their final out, in the ninth inning, all appeared out of reach for the Kane County Cougars (18-24, 51-61) against the pesky Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (21-21, 55-57). But this was no ordinary night. The Cougars miraculously overturned a two-run deficit against one of the league's best closers in the final inning to claim a three-run victory, 9-6, in Appleton.
After the Cougars had moved to within a run of the Timber Rattlers advantage, Sergio Alcantara's 2-out, 2-RBI base hit gave the Cougars the go-ahead tallies in the final inning. When trailing after the eighth inning, the Cougars claimed just their third victory in 55 chances to pull out an entertaining come-from-behind triumph.
This was not an effort that began swimmingly for the Cougars. Scoring early and often, the Timber Rattlers racked up a 4-0 lead against right-hander Sam McWilliams (2-4) just after the first inning. With three straight singles out of the gate, Wisconsin's Jake Gatewood stroked a groundball mishandled at second by Luis Basabe for an error. The fielding error sent two runs home. The next batter, Jon Oquendo, sent home two on a base hit.
Carrying in a season high 5-game win streak, the Cougars exploded for a trio of runs in the third. With two men on, Fernery Ozuna's sharp single to center waved home Trevor Mitsui. Another retort was injected from Zach Nehrir whose single plated Joey Armstrong and Ozuna. In just one inning, the Cougars shaved their deficit to just one run.
Unwilling to relinquish the lead, the Timber Rattlers posted a single run in the fourth, but the Cougars pulled in with another tally in the following inning. Drawing a leadoff walk, newcomer Marcus Wilson stole his second base of the ballgame to move in scoring position. Two batters later, Joey Armstrong ripped his eighth double of the season to send the speedy Wilson in for a score.
After the Timber Rattlers added another run, it was a 6-4 lead for Wisconsin heading to the ninth. A tall order faced the Cougars, one of league's top closers, Nate Griep (1-2). Taking the task at hand with great purpose, Basabe began with a base hit. Mitsui absorbed a hit by pitch to put two on base. That's when Joey Armstrong swatted his second double of the game to drive in a run, putting pinch runner, Gerard Hernandez, at third.
Down to their final out, the Cougars pinch-hit Stryker Trahan for Nehrir to load the bases. In a dramatic at-bat, the hero became Alcantara who guided a single through the right side to plate two and give the Cougars their first lead of the game. Unhesitatingly B.J. Lopez's base hit scored another run, as a bases-loaded walk pushed through the fifth tally of the frame, and the Cougars two run deficit became a three-run lead, 8-6.
In the ninth, Cody Clark (4-0) dealt with Wisconsin in 1-2-3 fashion, striking out the side, to grab his third save of the 2016. Jose Martinez (1-0) picked up the win with an inning scoreless, and Griep suffered the loss.