Four-run fifth powers Cougars past Bandits

DAVENPORT, Iowa - The Kane County Cougars (4-3) showed flashes of excellence in pitching, hitting and defense in a 5-2 win over the Quad Cities River Bandits (2-6) from Modern Woodmen Park Thursday evening.

After being hit by a pitch and taking a few games off, Robelys Reyes started the Cougars' scoring in his offensive return with a run-scoring single to plate Joe Munoz in the second frame.

Quad Cities tied the game two innings later on an RBI triple, but the top of the fifth inning provided the biggest punch of the ballgame.

With the bases loaded and two outs, Matt McPhearson singled to left field to score a run, but an error by River Bandits left fielder Daz Cameron allowed Raymel Flores to score as well for a 3-1 advantage. The big play knocked Quad Cities' starter Albert Abreu (0-1) out of the game and brought in Jose Fernandez. The right-handed reliever recorded an out at first, but Luke Lowery crushed a two-run triple for a 5-1 Cougars' lead. After the three-bagger, Hernandez and the Quad Cities bullpen allowed only one more Cougar base runner the rest of the game.

The first flashes of great defense came from McPhearson who lunged forward to make a diving catch with Alex Young on the mound. Later in the eighth the Cougar left-fielder crashed into the wall in foul territory to help Brody Greer's 1-2-3 inning.

Gabe Speier (1-0) retired all seven hitters that he faced in efficient fashion along with picking up three strikeouts.

One more web gem came in the ninth inning when Jason Morozowski sprawled forward to begin Cameron Gann's scoreless inning for his first save.

Young finished the day with six strikeouts in four innings pitched.

The Cougars and River Bandits continue this series on Friday night. Carlos Hernandez (0-0, 4.15) will start for the Cougars against Quad Cities' Chris Murphy (0-1, 4.15). First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. Coverage on AM 1280 WBIG and kccougars.com begins at 6:45 p.m.