Captains down Cougars 6-3

Lake County's (18-8) 16 hits provided plenty of activity in Tuesday's game against the Kane County Cougars (14-11), but it wasn't until the ninth inning that the Captains rallied their offense. A 3-run ninth helped the visiting team to a 6-3 win over the Cougars at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark.

With the game tied at three, Cameron Gann (0-2) loaded the bases with nobody out in the ninth. Martin Cervenka hit a grounder to third that started a 5-2-3 double play, but still kept the inning alive with runners and second and third with two outs. The Cougars elected to intentionally walk Anthony Miller and face Nathan Winfrey with the bases loaded. Winfrey made the Cougars pay with a 2-run single in the right field. Bobby Ison followed with an RBI base hit for a 6-3 Catpains' lead.

The 3-run ninth came after the Cougars plated 3 unanswered runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Trevor Mitsui started the scoring with an RBI double to score Raymel Flores, as Joe Munoz drove in a run with a groundout. In the seventh, it was Jose Queliz with the RBI groundout to tie the game 3-3.

Lake County scored a run in the first inning and two in the fourth off Cougar starter Junior Garcia. Garcia was on the hook for the loss until the offense bailed him out. Shao-Ching Chiang tossed a quality outing for Lake County, but Jared Robinson (1-1) picked up the win after blowing a save.

The series concludes on Wednesday at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark. Taylor Clarke (2-2, 3.47) takes the mound for the Cougars against Lake County's left-hander Tom Pannone (2-1, 2.25). First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m.