Cougars shut out Timber Rattlers

APPLETON, Wis.- For the second consecutive night, the Kane County Cougars (14-6) brought a no-hitter late into the ballgame as they shutout the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (9-11) by a score of 13-0 Wednesday night at Fox Cities Stadium. Cody Reed set the tone as he became the third Cougar starter to deny Wisconsin of a run in the series, with six shutout innings.

Reed (1-0) struck out 11 Wisconsin hitters through his six hitless innings and faced just two over the minimum. Reed's 11 punchouts was both a season and team-high.

The Cougar offense pounced on Wisconsin pitching as they piled together 13 runs through the first five innings. Every Cougar in the lineup recorded at least one hit and by the end of the night, the team tallied 13 total.

Wisconsin's first hit didn't come until the top of the seventh when Tucker Neuhaus led off with a double against Cougar reliever Riley Smith. The Cougar right-hander finished the day with two shutout innings, including a 1-2-3 eighth inning.

Luis Silverio got the scoring started with an RBI double in the first, followed by Kyle Smith's run scoring single in the second. Marcus Wilson drove in two runs with a double in the fourth and Paxton De La Garza grabbed a pair of RBI in the Cougars' six-run fifth inning. Jose Herrera and Ramon Hernandez also drove in runs.

Braden Webb (1-2) started for Wisconsin and coughed up six earned runs through three innings. After Andrew Vernon allowed one run, Cameron Roegner was charged with the six-run frame. Parker Berberet was the only Wisconsin hurler able to limit the Cougars' offense as he tossed the final four frames.

Tyler Mark finished off the game with a perfect ninth, as the Cougars put together a 5-2 road trip.

The Cougars return home to begin a four-game series against Beloit Thursday. Ryan Atkinson (2-0, 1.53) will take the mound for the Cougars against Beloit's Mitchell Jordan (0-0, 0.00). First pitch from Northwestern Medicine Field is at 6:30 p.m.