Cougars survive Snappers in ninth

BELOIT, Wis. - Behind more dominant pitching, the Kane County Cougars went back over .500 in the second half with a 2-1 triumph at the hands of the host Beloit Snappers. The Cougars have won the first two games of the series, and received five innings of no earned runs baseball from their bullpen, most notably three scoreless from winning southpaw Colin Poche.

Facing one of the league's best starters, losing righty Matt Milburn, the Cougars connected for 2 runs in the decisive third inning. After base knocks from Adam Walton and B.J. Lopez, Raymel Flores' fielder's choice grounder plated one. Shortly after, Ramon Hernandez socked an RBI double down the left field line as the Cougars stormed to a 2-0 lead.

Despite getting into trouble the whole night, it was a successful outing for righty Curtis Taylor. He failed to allow a run in 4 innings with 5 strikeouts and 3 walks. He handed the ball to Poche who was shutdown. Poche struck out 6 batters in his 9 outs of work. Right-hander Wei-Chieh Huang also impressed with an inning scoreless in his first appearance since mid-June.

Lead 2-0 to the ninth, Beloit avoid the shutout facing Cody Clark (2) who hung on for the save. Clark gave up a two-out RBI to Edwin Diaz, who retired pinch-hitter Kyle Nowlin on a fly out in foul ground to preserve the win.