Cougars bats stymied in 3-0 loss to Dragons

DAYTON, Ohio - Offense was hard to come by Tuesday evening, as the Kane County Cougars (10-8) only tallied 2 hits against the Dayton Dragons' (5-14) pitching. The Cougars didn't record their first base hit until the eighth inning and ended up losing 3-0.

Franderlyn Romero (1-1) allowed Luke Lowery to reach in the second inning after a dropped third strike, but ended up fanning 4 Cougars in the frame. After that lone base runner, Romero retired 19 straight Cougars and collected a total of 12 punch outs. The right-handed starter started the eighth inning, but couldn't close out the frame as Jose Queliz split the left side of the infield with the Cougars' first single of the day. After the 2-out hit, Dayton pulled its starter and turned to the bullpen.

The Dragons quickly got on the board in the second inning as Shed Long launched a 2-run homer over the right field wall, Long's home run came after the first of Carlos Hernandez's (2-1) two leadoff walks in the game. Brantley Bell singled home the other runner for a 3-0 Dayton lead in the third. Despite Hernandez suffering the loss, the right-hander was just one out short of a quality start.

The Cougars made noise in the ninth inning against closer Jeremy Kivel. Kivel walked both Galli Cribbs and Zach Nehrir before serving a 1-out RBI single to Trevor Mitsui. With the tying runs at the plate, Munoz struck out and the Dragons sealed the victory with a snap throw to second to retire Nehrir, which ended the game.

The series continues on Wednesday Justin Donatella (2-0, 0.53) faces off against Jake Johnson (0-1, 9.00). First pitch from Fifth Third Field is scheduled for 6 p.m.