Kane County Cougars sweep another doubleheader

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Something about playing two games in one day brings some of the best baseball out of the Kane County Cougars (42-19, 78-51) as they swept a doubleheader from the Cedar Rapids Kernels (31-30, 72-59) on Saturday. With the 6-2 and 4-3 wins over the Kernels, the Cougars improve to 8-0 in twin bill games and drop their magic number for a second half Western Division Championship to six.

With the night cap's game going into "extra innings," the Cougars saw their first lead of the contest in the top of the ninth inning. Joe Munoz connected on a solo home run for a 4-3 advantage off of Kernels' reliever Nick Anderson (0-1) down the left field line. It was Munoz's sixth homer of the season.

Luis Ramirez finished off the ninth with a perfect frame for his ninth save of 2015.

The Cougars did not see the scoreboard until the fifth inning when Stryker Trahan singled home Joe Munoz to cut the deficit 3-1. Later in the inning, Henry Castillo launched a game-tying 2-out double off of the left field wall to knock Cedar Rapids' starter Randy LeBlanc out of the game.

Cedar Rapids jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first three innings as they tagged on two earned runs against Cougar starter Nick Baker.

After the game was tied in the fifth, both bullpens took over including two scoreless frames from the Cougars' Chris Oliver and Ryan Burr. Jose Martinez (1-1) earned the win after facing the minimum in the eighth and inducing a big 6-4-3 double play.

In game one, the Cougars jumped out to a 1-0 lead as Marty Herum singled home Colin Bray in the first inning.

The lead was short lived as Ethan Elias (11-5) allowed Cedar Rapids to score twice, but the Cougars' pitching staff did not allow another run after.

Michael Perez and Bray quickly retook the Cougars lead with RBI singles in the top of the second. The Cougars never looked back from there as they scored four unanswered runs with Herum's run-scoring single in the fifth and two runs coming home in the seventh. Ildemaro Vargas scored on a Cedar Rapids error after he led off with a triple, before Bray scored on a wild pitch.

Jency Solis picked up the hold despite leaving the seventh inning responsible for two runners. Zac Curtis notched his 30th save of the season facing just two batters in the final frame.