Kane County Cougars win series, advance in playoffs

The Kane County Cougars are headed back to the East Division Championship Series. Kane County defeated the Lake Country DockHounds 5-3 Saturday night in the decisive Game 3 of the East Division Series.

The Cougars will face the Milwaukee Milkmen in the East Division Championship Series, marking their third consecutive appearance in the league’s final four. The series starts Monday.

The key moment of the night came with the game tied 3-3 in the eighth. With the bases loaded and two outs, Jairus Richards delivered the game-winning hit. Richards ripped a two-run single into left field off Jacob DeLabio to give Kane County a 5-3 advantage.

Earlier in the night, Lake Country took a 1-0 lead in the second on an RBI single from Jake Allgeyer. On the other side, DockHounds starter Sebastian Rodriguez held Kane County scoreless through three before the Cougars broke through in the fourth.

Armond Upshaw doubled before Josh Allen and Matt Bottcher walked to load the bases. After two straight outs, Alex McGarry cleared the bases with a three-run triple to put Kane County ahead 3-1.

Mario Feliciano answered with a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth before Anthony Garcia tied the game at three with an RBI single in the sixth.

TJ Sikkema held the league’s top offense to three runs on six hits across 5.1 innings, striking out three and walking one. Art Warren earned the victory with two perfect innings, striking out two.

After Richards put Kane County ahead in the eighth, Jake Gozzo worked through a Lake Country threat in the ninth to earn the save and preserve the 5-3 victory.