Cougars off to fast start in title series

Sheets of mist swept across Fifth Third Bank Ballpark, providing an eerie evening setting for Game 1 of the Midwest League championship series.

The strangeness wasn't limited to the weather. The Kane County Cougars and Lake County (Ohio) Captains combined for 7 runs over the first two innings Wednesday night.

After that it was all zeros, and the host Cougars emerged with a 4-3 victory in the best-of-five series.

Game 2 is Thursday at 6 p.m., also at Kane County, before the series moves east Saturday. The Cougars are the Class A affiliate of the Cubs.

"It was definitely a weird one, with both starting pitches coming out a little shaky," said Cougars manager Mark Johnson.

Cougars starter Jen-Ho Tseng, who doesn't turn 20 until Oct. 3, gave up a run in the first inning and 2 in the second and was nearly out of the game after 2 because he was nearing his pitch-count limit of 35 for one inning.

But Tseng settled down nicely and earned the victory with 5 innings of 6-hit ball as he walked one and struck out eight. His teammates helped with 2 runs in the first and 2 in the second, with the help of 3 Lake County errors in the second.

"The first inning and second inning, I was a little bit nervous," said Tseng, a native of Taiwan.

During the postseason, Johnson has been extolling Tseng's maturity.

"He did what he's done all year except for the first two innings," Johnson said. "He's really matured and really come along way emotionally and physically. His demeanor on the mound, everything about his game, has improved.

"He's mature above his years, especially with his pitchability and the way he handles himself on the mound."

The Cougars got 3 hits and 2 runs from Shawon Dunston Jr. In the first, he led off with an infield single and came home when DH Mark Zagunis launched a home run to right field. The wind to aided the ball a bit, but Zagunis got all of it. It was his second postseason homer.

"I had a good feeling," said Zagunis, the Cubs' third-round draft pick this year. "I squared it up pretty good and got ahead in the count 3-1. I was looking for a fastball and hit it well."

The Cougars, who won 91 games during the regular season, were happy to get Game 1.

"It's huge," Johnson said. "This is a huge win. We were talking about the emotions of young guys. They (Lake County) are an emotional team. You can see it the way everyone on the bench carries themselves and the way they play and act.

"Our guys are emotional, too. They're young. What do you expect? These are the biggest games they've ever played in."