Cougars capture Midwest League championship
Eastlake, OHIO - The Kane County Cougars capped off the most memorable season in franchise history with a Midwest League championship after sweeping the Lake County Captains.
A 7-2 victory Saturday night over the Eastern Division champions completed the Cougars' 7-0 postseason run.
The Captains snapped a 16-inning scoreless streak by jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Clint Frazier doubled home Ivan Castillo to give Lake County its first lead in the series since Wednesday.
The Cougars' Daniel Lockhart picked up his first postseason hit against starting pitcher Anderson Polanco that advanced Jacob Rogers to third base. Carlos Penalver tied the game at 1-1 with an RBI double.
An inning later, Jacob Rogers belted a home run off Polanco with Jeimer Candelario on base to give the Cougars a 3-1 lead.
Daury Torrez gave up 5 hits through 4 innings, but solid infield defense that turned double plays in back-to-back innings helped him escape a pair of no-out jams.
The Cougars added some late insurance runs, capitalizing on 2 Captains errors to take a 7-1 lead.
Michael Heesch took over for Torrez in the sixth inning and struck out six. Francisco Carrillo finished off the ninth to clinch the championship.