Latest news with #KaneCountyCougars
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Explorers defeat Cougars 4-3 in ten-inning thriller
GENEVA, Ill. (Courtesy of the Sioux City Explorers) – The first extra-inning game of the season saw a Sioux City Explorers (2-0) victory over the reigning American Association champion Kane County Cougars (0-2) in a close 4-3 win. Austin Drury got the start for the X's and tossed seven scoreless frames, but the bullpens decided the contest. It was a quiet first couple of innings at Northwestern Medicine Field. Austin Davis doubled in the first inning, but he was stranded at third base after Kurtis Byrne grounded out. Trendon Craig led off with a single for Kane County, but Drury retired the next three batters in order. Drury and Cougar starter Tommy Sommer (0-0) faced the minimum through the next few innings, but the bats got going in the fourth for the X's. With Davis at third and Luis Toribio at second with one out in the top of the fourth, Abdiel Layer rolled over on a ground ball to Galli Cribbs Jr. at short. He fielded the ball cleanly, but his throw sailed on first baseman Todd Lott, and both Davis and Toribio scored to give Sioux City a 2-0 lead. The next batter, Dario Gomez, smoked a single to center, pushing Layer across, bringing the lead up to three runs. Nick Shumpert struck out to end the inning. Sommer would go 5.1 for Kane County and yield only one earned run. Drury, who finished with 99 pitches and struck out five across seven scoreless frames, exited the game after seven innings, and manager Steve Montgomery brought in Ben Madison to keep the 3-0 lead intact. The Arkansas-native punched out Nick Dalesandro, but walked the next two batters, and Montgomery went back to his bullpen with the tying run at the plate. Dominican right-hander Peniel Otaño, who relieved Madison, came in with runners at the corners, only one out, and the top of the order due up. With the adrenaline flowing, the former Arizona Diamondbacks farmhand struck out one hitter, Trendon Craig, and two hitters flew out to center for out number three, keeping the lead at 3-0 for Sioux City. Otaño returned to pitch the ninth inning but immediately ran into trouble. Thomas Jones singled, and Todd Lott walked. After the first mound visit of the season from X's pitching coach, Bobby Post, Josh Allen strolled to the plate to represent the tying run. Allen singled home Jones, cutting it to 3-1 while putting the tying run at first base. Claudio Finol was next at the dish, representing the winning run, still with no outs, and grounded back to the mound, but both runners advanced, placing the tying run in scoring position. Otaño continued to battle on the mound and forced Nick Dalesandro to ground out, bringing home Lott to make it a one-run game. Oscar Santos came to the plate as the last hope for the Cougars and smacked a 0-1 pitch into right field to tie the game at three. Steve Montgomery once again turned to his bullpen, hoping to find an arm that could shut down Kane County's late-arriving bats. His finger landed on the left Chase Jessee (1-0), who pushed the game to extras as he struck out Galli Cribbs Jr. Abdiel Layer started the top of the tenth inning at second base, and Dario Gomez moved him over on a sacrifice bunt. Torin Montgomery was up next and sent one deep enough out to left field for Layer to score and for the X's to retake the lead. Jessee came back out to begin the bottom of the inning. Cribbs Jr began the inning at second base as the extra-inning zombie runner and a walk and hit batsman later, Jesse had loaded the bases with nobody out. Thomas Jones came to the plate with a chance to win the game with a single but went down looking as Jesse dug deep for the first out. Jesse forced a pop out from Todd Lott as the Cougars were down to their final out again. It would be Josh Allen standing between the X's and 2-0 start to the season. Allen broke his bat on a ground ball to Layer at third, who threw the short way to second and somehow Nick Shumpert got to the bag in time for the final out. Despite the victory, the X's mustered just three hits throughout the game (Davis, Gomez and Shumpert), giving them only six hits across the first two games of the 2025 campaign. After the three-run fourth inning, the next 18 Explorers' hitters were retired in order before Nick Shumpert reached on an infield single with two outs in the tenth. The Explorers play the final game of the three-game series Saturday night against the Kane County Cougars at Northwestern Medicine Field in Geneva, Illinois. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m. The first pitch is slated for a 6:30 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Chicago Tribune
03-04-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Sean Decker, president of the new ownership group, on Kane County Cougars: ‘This is the class of the league.'
Every summer, Sean Decker does what many other fathers do with their children. He takes them on a trip to watch baseball. Decker — the president of Dallas-based REV Entertainment, the new owners of the Kane County Cougars — did that again last July. REV also owns the Cleburne Railroaders, fellow members of the American Association with the Cougars. Decker and his 7-year-old son came up for three games between the two teams. That was right when talks of acquiring the Cougars were just starting. 'The place was amazing,' Decker said of Northwestern Medicine Field. 'It was an afternoon game. The place was slammed with kids, people who loved being here. I was like, 'These guys get it.' 'This is the class of the league.' Heading up a business that continues to add assets, mostly in baseball, one thing dawned on him. 'At its basic root, that's what we do,' Decker said of his father-son moment. 'We create places that families come to. If nothing else, I can prove that I practice what I preach with my kids. 'I didn't come here on a fact-finding mission to buy a team. I came here with my son to watch one of the teams we own play. We started sitting around saying, 'Gosh, wouldn't it be cool if we could someday own that team?'' That day came in March, and on Wednesday, REV Entertainment was formally introduced as the successor to Dr. Bob Froelich as the owners of the Cougars. Froelich, the owner since 2014, said he was approached in early 2024 by a group of former minor league owners about acquiring the team. Word travels fast in baseball circles, and at the American Association All-Star Game, Froelich talked to Tom Vander Veen, a senior advisor at REV that oversees Cleburne's operations. 'He said, 'Dr. Bob, I'm hearing through the grapevine that you're having discussions with someone,'' Froelich said. 'He said, 'If you're having discussions about selling the team, we want to take a run on it.' From that to here, it just worked.' Froelich hosted members of REV Entertainment for a five-game series shortly after the All-Star Game. What started as a conversation between two owners and a father-son trip turned into more. 'I really think the fans sold the team for me,' Froelich said. 'I didn't sell the team. 'Sean was having a father-son outing and they picked here to do it. His son fell in love with the team. Sean fell in love with the team. Literally, it was that home stand. I'm not sure the deal would have happened if Sean's son wanted to go somewhere else. Who knows?' Decker was quick to point out his company didn't buy the Cougars as a line item in their portfolio. 'The Kane County Cougars aren't going anywhere,' Decker said. 'We love this place. We invested in this place and we want to be here until the end of time.' He even said discussions about extending the lease with the Forest Preserve District of Kane County, owners of Northwestern Medicine Field, would be explored. 'REV Entertainment coming in here is the very best option for the Kane County Cougars,' said Bill Lenert, Forest Preserve District of Kane County president. 'We are thrilled they are the new owners.' Decker said he doesn't want to come in and make wholesale changes. He said REV Entertainment just wants to enhance what is already a successful and well-respected operation, which he saw firsthand last summer. 'For the first year, you're not going to see any meaningful difference,' Decker said. 'As we get into 2026 and beyond, this has to be a community asset for more than just the 50 home games. 'We're hoping to bring a group in that kind of pours gasoline on a small fire and makes a big one.'
