Cougars close first half with shutout win

The Kane County Cougars (35-34) finished the first half of the season with an 8-0 victory over the Beloit Snappers (27-41) on Sunday afternoon at Northwestern Medicine Field in Geneva. The Cougars win also wrapped up a series victory.

The Cougar pitching staff completed the team's sixth shutout of the season. Levi Kelly (2-0) started it. He didn't allow his first hit until the third inning. Kelly retired the final five batters he faced. The right-hander tossed five shutout innings, yielded just two hits and struck out four, earning him the win. He exited with the lead thanks to Alek Thomas' RBI ground out in the third inning.

Andy Toelken pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning. Wesley Rodriguez did the same in the seventh inning.

The Cougar offense busted out for seven runs in the final two at-bats. Bases loaded walks to Jose Herrera and Buddy Kennedy made it 3-0 in the seventh. In the eighth, the Cougars strung together five straight one-out hits. Zac Almond's two-run double was followed up by an RBI single by Eduardo Diaz, an RBI ground out by Jose Herrera and a run-scoring single for Buddy Kennedy.

Blake Workman (6) entered the game in a save spot with two outs in the eighth inning. He stranded both inherited runners in the eighth and worked a scoreless ninth to earn the save. Chase Cohen (4-7) took the loss for Beloit. He allowed one run over five innings on the mound.

The Cougars have three days off for the All-Star Break, before resuming action on June 20th at Burlington.