Cougars' first lead ends game

For the second consecutive opportunity Raymel Flores came in through the clutch by connecting on a walk-off single in the ninth inning as the Kane County Cougars (30-38, 63-75) beat the Peoria Chiefs (33-34, 73-64) 3-2 Saturday. The Cougars' last home game, Monday, ended on a walk-off single by Flores over the Beloit Snappers.

With Peoria reliever Josh Wirsu (1-2) on the mound in the 9th, BJ Lopez blooped a one-out single to put the winning run aboard. Jacy Cave's groundout to the short stop moved Lopez into scoring position, but with two outs. Peoria then intentionally walked Stephen Dezzi to face Jeff Smith. Wirsu worked a full count to Smith, but walked him to load the bases and bring Flores to the plate. With a 2-2 count, Flores bounced a grounder on the right side of the infield past RJ Dennard to score Lopez and hand the Cougars their third walk-off win of the season.

The Cougars did not find the scoreboard until the sixth inning. Down 2-0 and with only one hit under their belt, the Cougars received a big lift from Fernery Ozuna. The Cougar infielder launched a solo homer over the right field for his team-leading seventh long ball of the season. One inning later Stephen Dezzi tied the game with a two-out RBI single.

Pitching on both ends was solid all night. Peoria starter Ronnie Williams retired the first 11 Cougars he faced and did not allow a hit until the fourth inning with two outs. Williams left after Dezzi's game-tying single. Nick Frey worked one and one-third scoreless innings before handing the ball over to Wirsu in the ninth.