The Clinton Lumberkings and the Kane County Cougars were involved in a great pitchers duel tonight in game one of their series to close out the first half of the season. The Cougars would win 1-0, getting all of four hits in the game and giving up five.
Leonel Santiago went six innings giving up five hits and no runs. He would not walk anyone and strike out six Kings. It was his escapablilty in the fourth inning that kept the Cougars in the game. He would give up three hits in the inning and have the bases loaded with two outs. Santiago then got Robert Anston to ground one back to him to end the inning.
Taijuan Walker started for the Lumberkings tonight as was great. He would go seven innings, giving up two hits and one run. Walker walked two and struck out eleven Cougars. That is tied for the most this year by an opponent. Between the run scoring single by Orlando Calixte in the second and a one out walk to Brian Fletcher in the seventh he would retire 14 in a row.
The one run of the game came in the second inning off of Walker. Fletcher led it off with a double down the left field line. He would get to third on a wild pitch. Two strikeouts later, Calixte singled to right to score Fletcher.
The only other time really that either team had anything else going was in the eighth for the Cougars after they got Walker out of the game. Tyler Blandford came in relief. Calixte greated him with a single to right then stole second. Travis Jones blooped one to right that right fielder Kalian Sams should've caught but somehow lost. That would put runners on the corners with no outs. Julio Aparicio then grounded one to short, Clinton threw home and got Calixte as he tried to slide around the tag. Angel Franco then grounded one back to the mound to get Aparicio at second. The inning would end with a strikeout of Ryan Stovall.
Clinton had one other chance in the game. In the eighth inning off of reliever Chaz Byrne. Anthony Phillips led off by reaching on a fielding error by third baseman Ryan Stovall. The ball just bounced up on him. Julio Morban then tried to bunt Phillips to second. He would get the bunt down in fron of home plate, but would be called out on batter's interference. Morban would eventually be ejected from the game for arguing the call. After that Byrne struck out the next two hitters to end the inning after Phillips would eventually get to second on a wild pitch.
