Kane County Cougars lose fifth straight game

The Kane County Cougars dropped their fifth consecutive game on Friday night at Northwestern Medicine Field, falling 3-0 to the Sioux City Explorers in the opener of a three-game series.

Sioux City struck quickly against Konnor Ash (3-4), scoring twice in the first inning. Austin Davis singled on the first pitch of the game and later scored on an RBI single by Braulio Vazquez. A sacrifice fly from Zane Denton brought home another run, giving the Explorers an early 2-0 advantage.

The Explorers (15-18) added what proved to be their final run in the second inning when Dillon Tatum lined an RBI double into the left-center field gap, extending the lead to 3-0.

After the rocky start, Ash settled in and delivered one of his strongest stretches of the season. The right-hander retired 13 consecutive hitters at one point and allowed just one hit from the third inning through the end of his outing. Ash finished seven innings, allowing three runs while striking out six.

Unfortunately for Kane County (16-14), Sioux City starter Josh Landry (1-4) was even better.