Cougars get sloppy, lose lead, game

The Kane County Cougars made 3 errors and yielded 6 unearned runs Sunday, turning a 5-1 lead into a 7-6 loss against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers at Elfstrom Stadium.

The four-game series is even at one game apiece, and the Cougars’ lead over Clinton for the top playoff spot in the Western Division is back to 3 games with 28 remaining.

The game-changing inning turned out to be the Wisconsin sixth. The Rattlers sent nine to the plate and scored 5 runs — 1 earned — against Mike Giovenco (0-1), who took the loss.

The visitors added 1 more unearned run in the seventh off Alex Rivers to make it 7-5. The Cougars got one run back in the bottom half on a run-scoring grounder by Geulin Beltre, but the Cougars also stranded two in the eighth and one in the ninth in the loss.