Cougars' slide continues; Fielders split with Joliet

The Kane County Cougars' offensive woes continued Monday night, as the team suffered its fifth straight loss with a 4-0 defeat against the Peoria Chiefs in front of 6,246 at Elfstrom Stadium in Geneva.

The Cougars entered play Monday averaging 5.8 runs in August but have scored 13 runs total during the five-game skid, the club's longest since May.

Murphy Smith (7-1) notched his sixth straight quality start but was handed his first loss this year as a Cougar. He gave up 2 runs in the second and 2 more - 1 earned due to an error he committed - in the fifth. Connor Hoehn handled the next three innings with shutout relief.

The Cougars had 6 hits - all singles ­- and stranded seven.

Conner Crumbliss moved his hitting streak to a Cougars season-high 16 with a pair of hits, and Jason Christian chipped in 2. Jeff Antigua (4-3) got the win for the Chiefs.

The Cougars are off today before starting a three-game series in Iowa on Wednesday against the Cedar Rapids Kernels.

Fielders split: The Lake County Fielders split a doubleheader with the Joliet JackHammers after playing two seven-inning games in Zion. The Fielders dropped the first game 7-2 before winning Game 2 4-1.

Brian McFall tried to spark the Fielders' offense with a solo homer to center in the bottom of the fourth, but the offense couldn't add to his production.

Garry Bakker (5-7) provided a much needed lift for the Fielders' pitching staff in Game 2. He made only one mistake, allowing a fourth inning home run to Freddie Thon.

The Fielders evened the game in the bottom of the inning when McFall hit a one-out double and scored on a Cody Strait single.

McFall came up big again in the bottom of the fifth, delivering a long home run to straightaway center. With Guillermo Martinez already on second base, Joliet manager Chad Parker decided to walk Josh Short intentionally, but that move backfired.

McFall was 3-for-5, scoring 4 runs and driving in 4 with his 2 home runs. He now has 15.