Cougars rally comes up short
The Kane County Cougars rally, but came up short in Thursday’s 10-6 loss to the Sioux Falls Canaries at Northwestern Medicine Field.
For a third straight game, the Canaries (4-2) jumped out to an early lead. Wyatt Ulrich led off the ballgame with a single before reaching third on an errant pickoff attempt by Cougars’ (4-2) starter Westin Muir (1-1). After Ulrich reached third, Jabari Henry drove him in with a single through the left side to make it 1-0.
Two innings later, the Canaries began to play long ball. Following back-to-back singles by Spencer Sarringar and Trevor Achenbach, Josh Rehwaldt belted a three-run homer down to push the lead to 4-0.
Sioux Falls continued to pour it on in the top of the fifth. After a Henry walk, Jordan Barth knocked him in with an RBI double. Following Barth’s double, the Canaries cracked three straight home runs. Sarringar, Achenbach, and Rehwaldt all went deep to make it a 9-0 Canaries lead.
The Cougars began to rally against Sioux Falls starter Seth Miller (1-0). In the bottom of the fourth, Je’Von Ward and Cornelius Randolph started the frame with back-to-back singles. Next up, Jonah Davis hammered a three-run homer over the right field wall to make it 9-3.
One inning later, Kane County again struck via a home run. Armond Upshaw led off the inning with a walk, and two batters later Randolph blasted a two-run homer down the right field line to pull the Cougars within four. The Cougars added another run in the seventh on a double play groundout by Harrison Smith to make it 9-6.
The Canaries added an insurance run in the top of the eighth on a single by Barth. After stretching the lead to four runs, Zach Veen tossed a scoreless ninth for Sioux Falls to seal the win. Though Kane County fell in the finale, the Cougars took the series two games to one.
The Cougars begin a three-game set with the Milwaukee Milkmen on Friday night at Northwestern Medicine Field. Left-hander Greg Minier (0-1) will take the hill for Milwaukee against Cougars’ right-hander Jack Fox (0-1).