Fielders turn back Flyers

The Lake County Fielders held off the Schaumburg Flyers 13-12 on Friday night at Fielders Stadium in Zion.

The Fielders took a 12-4 lead in the fifth inning when they sent 11 batters to the plate and scored 6 runs on 3 hits.

The Flyers scored 4 runs in the seventh to pull within 12-8. The Fielders extended their lead to 13-8 with a run in the bottom half.

They Flyers countered with 3 runs in the eighth. Ryan Falcon allowed 2 singles and a walk to load the bases. Chris Kelly came on in relief and walked in a run and gave up a 2-RBI single before retiring the next three batters, leaving the Fielders lead at 13-11.

Jeff Dunbar came in from the bullpen to protect the Fielders' lead in the ninth. The Flyers' Tom Fitzgerald hit an RBI triple that scored Dylan Parzyk and put the tying run on third. Ruddy Yan hit a ball that bounced to shortstop Kyle Higgins, who threw out Fitzgerald trying to score from third. Brandon Newton hit into a fielder's choice, and Dunbar struck out Travis Brown to end it.

Cougars 7, Kernels 3 (10): The Kane County Cougars scored 4 runs in the 10th inning to beat the Cedar Rapids Kernels at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Jose Crisotomo had 4 hits and 3 RBI to lead the Cougars' 11-hit attack as they took two of three in the series. The Cougars took a half-game lead over Clinton for the top playoff spot in the Midwest League's Western Division and increased their lead over Beloit to 2 games with 17 remaining.