Kane County Cougars defy rain to defeat Gary SouthShore

The Cougars are back in the win column after snatching a victory in rainy conditions over the Gary SouthShore Railcats 3-1 Wednesday afternoon at Northwestern Medicine Field in Geneva.

Konnor Ash (4-2) mowed down the RailCats (9-25) lineup pitching all seven innings, allowing just two hits and one run after a solo home run by Jairus Richards in the seventh inning. Ash also recorded 10 strikeouts, putting him back in first place for most strikeouts in the American Association with 60 strikeouts, one ahead of Sioux City’s Kyle Marman.

Ash is now at seven quality starts and three games with 10-plus strikeouts. The Cougars (15-19) got the bats going early against RailCats starter Jonathan Martinez (0-2). Marcus Chiu was hit by a pitch in the first inning to send him to first base.

After two back-to-back balks by Martinez got Chiu to third, Todd Lott rolled a ball to third, and reached on an infield single, scoring Chiu in the process and giving the Cougars a 1-0 lead. Two batters later, Nick Dalesandro smashed a ball into right-center field that hopped the wall on a bounce and drove in Lott to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead.