Cougars break franchise record with Game 1 win

The Kane County Cougars, by virtue of a 7-1 win over the Dayton Dragons in Game 1 of a doubleheader Saturday at Elfstrom Stadium in Geneva, set a franchise record for the best start through 20 games of a season.

Their 16-4 marked surpassed the 2003 Cougars, who were 15-5.

The Cougars suffered a 7-5 loss in Game 2 for a split in front of 5,858 fans.

In Game 1 Scott Mitchinson (3-0) tossed the third straight quality start by a Cougar, giving up one run on five hits, walking none and fanning two over six innings to win his third consecutive outing. Nick Walters struck out the side in the seventh in a non-save situation.

The Cougars never trailed in the game, thanks to Matt Smith's run-scoring single in the second off Matt Klinker (1-1). Christian Vitters later belted a two-run shot to make it 3-0, and after a Corey Brown sacrifice fly in the third, Vitters cranked a solo shot in the fourth for his first professional multi-homer game. Michael Richard knocked out a two-run double in the sixth to complete the scoring for the 7-1 finish.

Game 2 starter Scott Hodsdon (0-3) put the Cougars in a quick hole, as he allowed three first-inning runs and four in the second before leaving prior to the frame's end. Down 7-0, the Cougars' bullpen duo of Scott Deal and Leonardo Espinal stymied the Dragons the rest of the way, and the offense responded with a five-run fourth-inning rally. Gustavo Rosendo and Vitters each had an RBI single, Matt Ray knocked in a run with a grounder, and Greg Dowling connected for a two-run single to make it 7-5. The Cougars, though, stranded two in that inning, left the bases loaded in the sixth and missed a scoring chance in the seventh when the game ended. Jeff Jeffords (2-0) got the win for Dayton, and Joseph Krebs notched the save.