Cougars beat Wisconsin on the road

APPLETON, Wis. - On the backs of a triumphant pitching performance from right-hander Jon Duplantier (1-0), the Kane County Cougars (12-6) stormed past the host Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (9-9) Monday night by a final score of 5-1. The game also featured timely Cougars offense on a go-ahead 2-run fifth inning, and a late 2-run home run from Kyle Smith.

The first 4 innings of the contest were scoreless thanks to the dominant pitching of Duplantier for the Cougars and Wisconsin's Trey Supak (0-2).

But in the the away half of the fifth, the Cougars took a 2-0 lead, an advantage they had for good. With 3 hits in the inning, the offense started with a double from Jose Herrera, and the next man up, Jazz Chisholm, sent him home with an RBI triple. On a rampant stretch, Luis Silverio's sacrifice fly scored Chisholm.

On the mound, it was another epic performance from Duplantier. The Rice University product went 5 shutout innings on just 3 hits, 8 strikeouts and no walks. Despite failing to allow an earned run through 20.1 innings pitched this season (21.1 innings for his career), this is Duplantier's first professional victory.

With Duplantier, out of the game, the Timber Rattlers plated their first tally in the sixth against right-hander Sam Lewis (0-0). With two aboard, Ronnie Gideon's single with 2 outs scored a run. In what could have been a go-ahead Wisconsin rally, Lewis struck out Cuas to end the threat.

With some insurance in the away half of the eighth and ninth innings, the Cougars established a 5-1 lead. The first support came in the eighth with aid from the Timber Rattlers' defense. With the bases loaded and Marcus Wilson at the dish, a passed ball allowed Silverio to trot home. In the ninth, Smith slugged his second home run of the year, to score Chisholm, putting the finishing touches on the road win.

Duplantier picked up the win, Supak the loss, and with one and two-thirds scoreless innings, Tommy Eveld (4) grabbed the save.