Game Notes: Quad Cities River Bandits @ Kane County Cougars (8/14/14)

Final Score

Cougars 4, River Bandits 1

Game Summary

It was a relatively quick game that started as a pitchers duel. The River Bandits (60-61) had a few early chances, but couldn't push a run across. Meanwhile, the Cougars (77-45) didn't see a base runner until the 5th. Quad Cities manufactured a run in the 6th and with their pitching, it seemed like a good chance of holding up. But the Kane County bats came to life in the 8th when they scored their 4 runs and shut the door in the 9th to lock down the sweep.

Pitchers of Record
W: Jasvir Rakkar (1-0)- 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB. The Canadian prospect came in in the 8th to maintain the status quo, and did well. Gave up all fly ball outs, but hey, whatever works.
L: Troy Scribner (0-2)- 7.1 IP, 3 R (3 ER), 5 H, 10 K. The undrafted 23-year-old looked really good, retiring the first 14 men he faced. (Full confession: I alluded to the perfect game to my wife trying not to jinx it. My bad.) He had no problems up until the 8th, when the first four guys all hit the ball pretty hard... Especially the last guy he faced.

Key Stats

• Trey Martin (KC)- 1-3, HR (2), 3 RBI. I was up getting Dippin Dots during the rally. A leadoff double was followed by a line out and a base hit to set the stage for what turned out to be Martin's game-winner. I could tell purely by sound it was hit well, but I had to rely on other fans to know that it was gone, just over the wall by the scoreboard.
• Duane Underwood (KC)- 5 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 3 BB, 4 K. The Cougar starter only lasted 5 because of a fairly high pitch count. After a perfect first inning, he gave up a single and a walk to start the second inning. A groundout moved the runners over, but a great play at first nailed the runner going home for the second out and he escaped. In the third, the River Bandits loaded the bases with one out but Underwood struck out the next two guys. Then in the 4th after giving up a leadoff single, catcher Victor Caratini threw out the runner trying to steal. Underwood then walked the next batter before inducing an inning-ending double play.
• James Ramsay (QC)- 1-5, 1B, 2 SB. The Astro's 2013 7th round pick hit the ball really well last night. He opened the game with a rocket the opposite way that Shawon Dunston, Jr. made a great catch at the wall on. He singled with one out in the third, stole second ahead of a Bobby Boyd walk, then swiped third as part of a double steal. He would advance no further. Keep an eye on this guy though; he's got 28 steals on the season. In just over a full season's worth of games, he's only hitting .243 between short-season A-ball and the Midwest League, but he's got a .336 on base percentage and 35 steals in 46 attempts.

Final Thoughts
Growing up, heading out to Geneva to catch a Cougars game was always a treat. After a few year hiatus, it was good to get back for an amazing game last year. I'd wanted to bring Kristen along for a game out here, so we went with my dad and Logan. I think Kristen mainly came for the food (there were funnel cakes right behind our seats), but overall I think she had a pretty good time. As for the game, the Cougars have had some magic at home this season, and it showed last night as they came from behind late to rally and win. They've already locked up a playoff berth after winning the Midwest League Western Division First Half title, but they've just kept rolling, and are in first place in the second half too. Maybe we'll see a 2014 Midwest League Championship for this amazing Minor League program.

Game Notes: Beloit Snappers @ Kane County Cougars (6/27/13)

Final Score

Cougars 8, Snappers 7 (10 innings)

Game Summary

Starter Tayler Scott of the Cougars in the 1st.

For Father's Day, in addition to a card I got my dad tickets to head down Kirk Road to catch the Cubs' Class-A affiliate in action. The Cougars (31-42) started off very sloppy in allowing four stolen bases and also committing two errors, a passed ball, and three wild pitches all before the end of the 4th inning as the Snappers (48-29) built a 6-0 lead on all those mistakes. Slowly the Cougars came back from that defecit, posting a four-run 7th to get back to within a single run, then tied it in the 8th. Neither team scored in the 9th, and the Cougars won in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the 10th (see below).

Pitchers of Record

Albert Almora batting in the 1st.

W: Jeffry Antigua (3-1): 3 IP, H, BB, 3 K. Really, the bullpen did a great job for Kane County tonight. After a tough outing for starter Tayler Scott (4+ IP, chared with all 7 Beloit runs, 4 of them earned, 7 strikeouts), Antigua followed 3 scoreless innings from Sheldon McDonald with 3 of his own. He faced a little trouble in the 10th but got out of the jam and was able to pick up a nice win.
L: Chris Lamb (1-2): 2+ IP, 2 R (1 ER), 5 H, 2 K. Pitched well other than in the 8th when he blew the save on a clutch 2-out hit. He went scoreless in the 9th, then faced all of two batters in the 10th when the Cougars walked off.

Key Stats

Rock Shoulders celebrates his homer.

• Albert Almora (KC): 3-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI. The Cubs' 2012 first round pick definitely lived up to the hype tonight and improved his average this year to .366. After starting the game 0-2, he doubled to center in the 5th and came around to score thanks to an error and a sacrifice fly. In the 7th he singled home a run to make it 7-3 and would later score. He then tied the game in the 8th with a grounder to short that wasn't handled cleanly. Obviously it's still early in his career, but he showed flashes of what could make for exciting baseball at Clark and Addison in a few years.
• Rock Shoulders (KC): 1-4, HR (15), R, 3 RBI. I don't really remember a lot of power hitters coming through Kane County (not to say there haven't been), but this man definitely has some. He struck out his first couple times out before walking in the 6th. Then with two on and two out in the 7th he absolutely crushed one to the decks out in right field to pull the Cougars within a run. And that name... one of the best in all of sports.
• Oliver Zapata (KC) 3-4, 3B, 3 R. Zapata was the catalyst for this team out of the 9-spot in the order. He tripled leading off the 7th and scored on Almora's single. He hit a 1-out single in the 8th, stole second, advanced to third on a Bijan Rademacher groundout, then scored on Almora'a second straight single to tie the game. And boy, did he ever take advantage of mistakes in extras. He led off the bottom of the 10th for Kane County with a bunt right in front of home plate. He went fast enough to beat the throw to first for a single... only the throw from the catcher was off target. Zapata advanced to second and rounded towards third... and the right fielder's throw was off, allowing Zapata to advance to third with nobody out on a pair of errors. Rademacher didn't need to bat, as Lamb uncorked a wild pitch and Zapata raced home with the winning run. It was incredible.

The Cougars mob Oliver Zapata.

Final Thoughts

This was my first time getting back to Fifth Third Bank Ballpark in at least a couple years after spending a number of summer nights here growing up. When you live a mere 15-20 minutes away from the ballpark, it's a great alternative to driving in towards the city. We often sat in the lawn seats out in left field, but I got a couple box seats 4 rows back from the Cougars dugout for my dad for Father's Day, and I think he enjoyed getting out of the house for a few hours this evening. It's been a rough season for Kane County, but there are some talented young players on this squad that could be making an impact on the North Side down the line. And ultimately, despite 8 errors between the two teams, this was an incredibly entertaining game. You can't ask for more than that.