Cougars win, clinch home-field advantage in playoffs
In the final game of the regular season, the Kane County Cougars cruised to a 5-1 victory over the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks in a Labor Day matinee at Northwestern Medicine Field.
The win clinched home field advantage for the Cougars (55-45) in round one of the Miles Wolff Cup Playoffs when they take on the Lake Country DockHounds.
For a second straight game, the Cougars jumped out to a lead in the first inning, this time against Fargo (53-47) starter Braunny Munoz (5-5). With two outs, Cornelius Randolph and Alex McGarry poked back-to-back singles. Josh Allen singled through the middle to score Randolph and make it 1-0.
One inning later, the Cougars added on. Hayden Dunhurst laced a double into the right field corner. Galli Cribbs Jr. singled to put runners at the corners. After Cribbs stole second, Trendon Craig smoked a two-run double to push the Cougars’ lead to 3-0.
After Jack Fox tossed four scoreless innings to start the day, Fargo got on the board in the fifth. Marcus Chiu led off with a single. Michael Halquist doubled into the left field corner to score Chiu and reached third on an error. However, Fox was able to record three straight outs to strand Hallquist and keep it a 3-1 Cougars lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Cougars added insurance. Harrison Smith led off with a walk before stealing second. Cribbs Jr. singled into left-center to score Smith and make it 4-1. Armond Upshaw doubled into the left field corner to score Cribbs Jr. and push the lead to 5-1.
Fox earned the win by allowing just one run across five innings on four hits with four strikeouts and one walk. In relief of Fox, C.J. Carter tossed 1.1 innings of scoreless relief. Jake Gozzo came on for the eighth and tossed a scoreless frame. In the ninth, Gozzo ran into some trouble and loaded the bases. However, Tyler Beardsley recorded a lineout and strikeout to end the ballgame and earn his 13th save.
The Cougars begin the Miles Wolff Cup Playoffs on Wednesday night in Lake Country. Following game one, the Cougars will host Lake Country for game two on Friday and would host game three on Saturday, if necessary.