Cougars squeak out 2-1 win in extras for sixth straight

Davenport, Iowa - The Kane County Cougars (62-58, 27-24) won their sixth straight game, a 2-1 extra innings triumph over the Quad Cities River Bandits (69-53, 29-23) on Wednesday night at Modern Woodmen Park.

Both starting pitchers began the game by striking out the side. Cougar pitcher Jayson McKinley retired his first six batters with a punchout. Bandits hurler Luis Garcia struck out five of the first six batters he sent down.

The Cougars were the first to find the scoreboard in the fifth. Eudy Ramos singled with one out. Terence Connelly followed with a walk. The next hitter, Ryan Dobson, singled to center field. That plated Ramos and made it 1-0 Cougars.

The Bandits came back in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game. Miguelangel Sierra's RBI knock to left evened the score.

The game remained tied into extra innings. In the top of the tenth, Tim Susnara hit a fly ball to center field with a runner at third. Bandits center fielder Marty Costes dropped the ball, allowing Yoel Yanqui to score and push the Cougars back in front.

With a runner at second and one out in the bottom of the tenth, Jonathan Lacroix singled to center. Cougar outfielder Tra Holmes gunned out Michael Papierski at the plate to keep the game in the Cougars favor. The next batter struck out to end the game.

Cougar reliever Carlos Hernandez (2-0) earned the win. The righty tossed two scoreless frames. Kyler Stout (4) came on to toss a scoreless tenth to notch the save. Starter Jayson McKinley did not factor into the decision, despite striking out eight over five innings of one-run ball. Luis Castillo also gave the Cougars two frames of shutout ball.

Willy Collado (1-3) suffered the loss for Quad Cities. He allowed the automatic runner to score in the tenth.

The Cougars and River Bandits play game two of the three-game series Thursday night at Modern Woodmen Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.