Cougars split pair of shutouts

The Kane County Cougars received great pitching in both ends of their Tuesday doubleheader against the visiting Fort Wayne Wizards, managing a split.

Travis Banwart took a 2-0 hard-luck loss in Game 1, but Jamie Richmond grabbed the win in the Cougars' 1-0 victory in Game 2, as they snapped a three-game losing streak in front of 6,142 at Elfstrom Stadium.

Banwart (2-2) gave up 1 run in each of his first 2 innings in the opener but settled down to stymie the Wizards the rest of the way. He retired nine straight at one point and tied a career high with 7 strikeouts en route to his second straight quality start and third of the year.

In Game 2 Richmond (2-1) gave up 4 hits, walked one and also tied a career high with 7 strikeouts over 6½ innings. He became the winner thanks to Walter Correa's two-out, RBI double in the fourth inning off reliever Fort Wayne Brandon Gomes (1-1), which ended the Cougars' streak of consecutive innings without a run at 22. Branden Dewing recorded his third save by inducing a game-ending 4-6-3 double play.