Down on the Farm: Iowa, Kane County winners once again

Class-A Kane County Cougars

The Cougars fought off a four-run sixth inning from the Fort Wayne TinCaps on Thursday night, holding onto what became a 7-5 win in front of the home faithful at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark. Starting pitcher Tyler Skulina (1-0) wasn’t overly impressive, as he allowed five runs in just 5 2/3 innings of work; he did, however, notch six strikeouts, as well.

From the word ‘go’ it appeared the Cougars were in for a good night, as the club’s first two runs crossed the played in the bottom of the first via an error by Fort Wayne shortstop Franchy Cordero. The club added four more runs in the second, but soon after, Kane County’s bats went quiet until they pushed across  an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Two Cougars’ hitters tallied a pair of base hits on the evening – Danny Lockhart and Carlos Penalver –  but Yasiel Balaguert led the charge in terms of RBIs, with three.

A home run opened the TinCaps’ scoring in the sixth, and soon after, a two RBI doubles and an RBI single changed the entire feel of the ballgame, cutting what had been a 6-0 Kane County lead to a much closer 6-5 ballgame.

Kane County moves to 4-3 on the young season with Thursday’s win, while Fort Wayne falls to 2-5. The Cougars host the Lake County Captains on Friday night at home, with first pitch slated for 6:30 p.m. CT.

FINAL: Kane County 7 Fort Wayne 5