Cougars' rally in ninth inning falls short

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Trailing, 11-4, entering the ninth inning Saturday afternoon against the Cedar Rapids Kernels, the Kane County Cougars rallied for four runs and had the go-ahead run at the plate but fell short in an 11-8 loss at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Cougars have dropped the first two games in the four-game set and are back below the .500 mark. They also are 1-4 against the Kernels, against whom they play 17 games this season.

After getting no-hit Friday night, the Cougars' offense jumped on Patrick Corbin in the top of the first Saturday. Conner Crumbliss led off the game with a double and scored on a single by Anthony Aliotti. Then Leonardo Gil launched a three-run homer to make it 4-0.

The lead did not last long, as starter Dan Straily (2-1) yielded four runs in the bottom half, two more in the second and three in the third before leaving. He gave up nine runs on seven hits in 2 2/3 innings in the loss. Connor Hoehn took over and pitched 3 1/3 innings of one-hit shutout relief, and Hector Garcia ceded two runs in the bottom of the seventh for an 11-4 score.

The Cougars, who managed just two hits from the second inning through the eighth, came alive in the ninth with a four-run rally. Franklin Hernandez and Juan Nunez had RBI hits, and Chris Affinito and Myrio Richard each poked a sacrifice fly, but Aliotti grounded out with the bases loaded to end it. Corbin (4-0) got the win, and Johnny Hellweg notched his third save.