Cougars Dominate with Full-Lineup Firepower in 9–3 Rout Over Railroaders
Every bat in the Cougars lineup did damage! All nine hitters recorded a hit, as Kane County roared back from a three-run deficit to dismantle the Cleburne Railroaders, 9–3, Tuesday night at Northwestern Medicine Field.
The Railroaders (28–31) jumped ahead early with a big fourth inning off right-hander Chris Mazza. Aaron Altherr sparked it with a solo shot to right, followed by a trio of consecutive doubles from Kyle Martin, Steven Rivas, and Andres Sosa to plate two more and make it 3–0.
But that was the last time Cleburne saw the scoreboard.
Kane County (27–31) flipped the script with nine unanswered runs across the next three frames, starting with patient plate work and ending with punishing power.
In the bottom of the fourth, Josh Allen and Marcus Chiu drew back-to-back walks against starter Derek Craft (5–3). Todd Lott broke through with an RBI single to get the Cougars on the board, and then the momentum flipped for good.
After Armond Upshaw was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Claudio Finol cleared them with a towering double off the wall turning a 3–1 deficit into a 4–3 lead in one swing.
An inning later, the Cougars’ bats exploded again. Craig and Allen set the table with base hits, and Chiu continued his red-hot tear, blasting his seventh home run in 10 games, a three-run bomb that gave Kane County breathing room at 7–3. Upshaw followed with a solo shot of his own to left field, stretching the lead to five.
They weren’t done. In the sixth, Allen laced an RBI double down the left-field line to bring in Zane Spinn and cap the scoring at 9–3.
From top to bottom, the Cougars lineup was relentless — hitting for power, working counts, and seizing control of the series opener with authority.
by: Michael Sanders
