Bonus Baseball! Cougars Open Midwest League Playoffs Wednesday at Elfstrom Stadium

The Kane County Cougars have qualified for the 2011 Midwest League Playoffs and begin their quest for the league championship at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 7, at . Fans can get their playoff tickets now for Game 1 against the Burlington Bees by clicking HERE.

The series is a best-of-three Western Division quarterfinal matchup that starts at Elfstrom Stadium. Game 2 and, if necessary, Game 3 would take place at Burlington on Sept. 8 and 9.

Cougars Notes

• Pitcher Greg Billo recently was named Cougars Pitcher of the Year by the Kansas City Royals and earlier in the week was named to the Midwest League Post-Season All-Star team. Billo’s current 1.93 ERA this season would put him in third place on the Cougars’ single-season pitching leaders list, just behind Dontrelle Willis, who posted a 1.83 ERA as a Cougar in 2002. Billo also is currently tied for the best ERA in the minor leagues, among qualifiers.
• Outfielder Brian Fletcher was named Cougars Player of the Year by the Royals and also is hoping to put his name in the Cougars’ record book this season. Fletcher’s .332 average is currently good for 2nd-best among single-season leaders in Cougars history (’02 Cougar Jason Stokes’ .341 average is a franchise single-season record). Fletcher’s average will put him in company with former Cougars Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Millar, Ross Gload and Luis Castillo among single-season batting leaders.
• The Cougars picked up a pair of bullpen arms within the past 10 days in Tyler Graham and Edwin Carl. Carl was named Idaho Falls Pitcher of the Year by the Royals after striking out 71 batters in just 33 innings of work.
• Infielder Cheslor Cuthbert is batting .272—his lowest mark since May 26. Catcher/infielder.
• Juan Graterol made an emergency relief appearance on Aug. 26 in a blowout loss at Wisconsin. Graterol gave up a home run but struck out two batters.

This article is courtesy of the Kane County Cougars.