Cougars lose third straight as Peoria pulls out 4-2 win

PEORIA - The Kane county Cougars built a 2-0 lead through 5 1/2 innings Wednesday afternoon but could not hold it, losing to the Peoria Chiefs, 4-2, in front of 6,591 fans at O'Brien Field.

The Cougars have lost a season-high three games in a row and also lost three series in a row. Peoria has won six straight.

Leonardo Gil gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead in the second when he singled home Max Stassi, and Rashun Dixon belted his first homer as a Cougar in the sixth to make it 2-0.

Starter Chris Mederos was cruising along and vying for his third quality start in as many outings but ran into trouble in the sixth. The first three batters he faced reached with a hit, and an ensuing grounder tied it, 2-2. Mederos gave up 2 runs on 6 hits, walked one and fanned three in 51/3 innings in the no-decision.

Connor Hoehn replaced Mederos and struck out consecutive hitters to end the sixth but yielded 2 runs in the seventh. He hit Jesus Morelli and walked Jose Valdez before Matt Cerda roped a two-run single to make it 4-2, and that became the final.

The Cougars stranded 10 runners, including two in each of the final three frames. Hoehn (2-1) suffered the loss, Steven Grife (1-0) picked up the win, and Jordan Latham registered his fifth save.

The Cougars (6-8) and Chiefs (9-5) conclude their three-game series Thursday night at 6:30 p.m.. Justin Marks (0-1, 10.13) will face Su-Min Jung (2-0, 0.00).

The game will be broadcast on WBIG 1280-AM and at kccougars.com, with pregame coverage starting at 6:15 p.m.