Cougars fall 11-8

After losing a fourth-inning 4-1 advantage, the Peoria Chiefs rallied for 4 runs in the sixth, 2 more in the seventh and another in the eighth to grab an 11-5 lead.

The visiting Chiefs then held on for the 11-8 victory to salvage the final game of the three-game series against Kane County.

Despite a wind blowing in from center field, there would be more than enough offense to satisfy the 6,379 who braved 40-degree wind chills during the three-hour game.

Richard Jones led the Chiefs with 3 hits, including a double and a home run, giving him 4 RBI for the day. Anthony Giansanti had 3 hits and 3 RBI as the teams combined for 16 extra-base hits.

Gerard Hall, Steven Caseres and Murray Watts each had a pair of RBI, with Watts hitting his second home run of the season in the fourth inning.

Consecutive hits in the ninth from Alex Llanos, Caseres and Lane Adams pulled the Cougars to within 3 runs, but Watts took a called third strike to end the game.

In his Cougars debut, Yordano Ventura allowed 4 earned runs in 3-plus innings. Said to have the best fastball in the Kansas City Royals’ system by Baseball America, the 19-year-old from the Dominican Republic struck out a pair and walked only one.

Matt Mitchell (2-1) took the loss.