Peoria Chiefs Edge Kane County Cougars 3-2 in 11 Innings

MLN - THE RAW FEED - www.mlntherawfeed.com - Peoria, IL – The Peoria Chiefs again came through in the clutch against the Kane County Cougars on Saturday night, taking a come-from-behind 3-2 win in the eleventh inning.  The win puts the Chiefs at 5-5 in the second half and 35-43 on the season.

     Peoria didn’t disappoint with their second walk-off win of the series against the Cougars. Nate Samson led off the eleventh inning, reaching first as shortstop Michael Richard bobbled the ball for an error.  Marquez Smith reached on an infield single to third, and a sacrifice bunt from Elvis Lara advanced both runners.  Chad Kerfoot intentionally walked Luis Bautista to put a force at any base, and a wild pitch during Brandon Guyer’s at bat allowed Samson to score and give the Chiefs the 3-2 win.

     Jovan Rosa led off the

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Chiefs second inning against Cougars starter Tyson Ross with a double to right-center that just missed the gloves of both the Kane County right-fielder and center-fielder. Rosa moved to third on a single up the middle from Bautista and scored the Chiefs first run when Cliff Andersen was thrown out on his way to first by second baseman Larry Cobb to put the Chiefs up 1-0.

     The Cougars came back and took the lead in the fifth against Julio Castillo from the Chiefs bullpen.  With one down, Juan Nunez reached on an error by Samson and advanced as Michael Richard was walked.  A passed ball by catcher Mario Mercedes moved both runners up one base before both scored on a double by Adam Klein to put the Cougars ahead 2-1. 

     In another ninth inning comeback, the Chiefs tied the game to send the teams into extra innings.  Samson started the inning with a single to right but stayed in place as Smith popped up bunt that was caught by first baseman Jake Smith.  Rosa singled to right to send Samson to third, and Lara came in as a pinch runner for Rosa.  Bautista reached on a fielders choice as Rosa was out at second, and Samson came in to score, putting the Chiefs even with the Cougars at 2-2.

     The Chiefs threatened to end the game in the tenth before reliever Kerfoot ended the inning with one runner left on base.  With one down, Mercedes reached on a single to right and moved to third on a single by Gian Guzman.  The threat was ended as Guzman was caught stealing, and Wyatt flew out to center with the two teams still tied.

     Audy Santana started the game for the Chiefs, throwing four innings to tie his career-high in innings pitched.  He kept the Cougars scoreless and allowed only one hit while walking two and striking out three.  Castillo relieved Santana and came in to pitch five innings of his own, giving two unearned runs on three hits.  Jake Muyco made his 2008 pitching debut in Peoria, picking up the win in two innings pitched and allowing no hits or runs while striking out four. 

Players of the Game – Jake Muyco (P) - Muyco picked up his first win with Peoria in his debut as a pitcher for the Chiefs, after holding the position as the team’s starting catcher in 2006.  He threw the 10^th and 11^th innings, holding the Cougars scoreless and allowing no hits while striking out four. 

Notes…The Chiefs hadn’t committed an error in 34 1/3 innings, a stretch that was broken in the fifth inning tonight…For the fourth straight game, the Chiefs were the first to score…The Chiefs turned their league-leading 82^nd double play…The Chiefs are 2-4 in extra-inning games at home, and 4-6 on the season…Rosa hit his team-leading 21^st double of the season…Tonight marked the 15^th come from behind win by the Chiefs this season…The walk off win was the fifth this season for the Chiefs… The Chiefs received their fifth intentional walk of the season…Tonight’s crowd of 6,034 is the fifth crowd over 6,000 at O’Brien Field this season… In the last 31 innings Chiefs starting pitchers have walked only five batters… Since 2002, this was the eighth extra-inning game played against Kane County at O’Brien Field, most in the field’s history…The next highest is five games against both Dayton and Lansing…The two teams will continue their four-game series on Sunday afternoon at 2:00pm …Sunday is a Taco Bell Family Day at O’Brien Field…Vouchers are available at participating area Taco Bell restaurants and may be redeemed at the box office for four club box seats, $20 in concessions vouchers, a disposable camera, and a picture frame all for just $48…Peoria will send RH Dae-Eun Rhee (4-1, 1.22) to the mound against RH Scott Hodsdon (4-5, 3.38) for Kane County…The game can be heard live beginning with the pre-game show at 1:45 PM online at www.peoriachiefs.com or on WOAM 1350 AM

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