Rogers' blast boosts Cougars

Posted May 30, 2014 1:01 am

Daily Herald News Services

CLINTON, Iowa - Jacob Rogers ended a 15-inning scoreless streak against the LumberKings with a 3-run homer in the sixth inning, helping the first-place Kane County Cougars rally to to beat Clinton 4-1 in Midwest League action at Ashford University Field on Friday night.

The Cougars (37-18) chipped away at starter Lars Huijer through the first 5 innings, before knocking him out of the game in the sixth. With two runners on base, Aaron Brooks came on in relief and served up Rogers' team-high fifth home run of the year.

The Cougars increased their lead to 4-1 in the seventh inning when Jordan Hankins drove home Jake Hannemann.

The LumberKings had jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by from Austin Wilson. After the first, Cougars starter Daury Torrez (5-3) worked 4 scoreless innings to earn the win .

James Pugliese worked 3 nearly perfect innings of relief from the sixth through eighth with 5 strikeouts. Tyler Bremer struck out the side in the ninth to record his fourth save.

The Cougars head to Peoria for a three-game series against the second-place Chiefs. Today's pitching matchup at 6:30 p.m. will feature the Cougars' Juan Paniagua (1-3, 4.34 ERA) vs. Peoria left-hander Jimmy Reed (2-1, 4.41).

Article Comments

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.