Cougars take series from Dragons with consecutive shutouts
DAYTON, Ohio - After dropping Tuesday's game, the Kane County Cougars (12-8) shut out the Dayton Dragons (5-16) for the final 23 innings of the three game series. Thursday night's 2-0 victory capped off a series win for the final meeting between the Cougars and the Dragons of the 2016 regular season.
Both pitching staffs handled the offenses well as the Cougars didn't even see the scoreboard until the top of the fifth frame. With runners at the corners, Matt McPhearson drilled an RBI base hit into left field to score Jason Morozowski. On the play, Dayton's left fielder Ed Charlton misjudged the single, and his error allowed Raymel Flores to also score in the inning.
Junior Garcia (2-1) didn't need much help as the left-handed starter faced just two over the minimum with six scoreless innings, only allowing one hit. Garcia never allowed a Dragon base runner into scoring position and picked up his first quality outing of the season with no walks and three strikeouts.
After Garcia, the Cougars' bullpen pitched in with three perfect frames. Gabriel Moya earned his fourth hold with three strikeouts through the seventh and eighth innings as Cameron Gann picked up his fourth save of the year.
Connor Krauss suffered the loss giving up the two unearned runs in the fifth inning.
The Cougars now head to Bowling Green to continue their road trip with a three-game series against the Hot Rods Friday. Taylor Clarke (2-1, 1.96) will take the mound for the Cougars against Bowling Green's Henry Centeno (1-0, 0.52). First pitch from Kentucky is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.