Published on September 14, 2026 under American Association (AA)
Kane County Cougars News Release
GENEVA, IL – The Kane County Cougars opened their best-of-five East Division Championship series against the Milwaukee Milkmen with a dramatic 4-3, 10-inning victory Monday at Northwestern Medicine Field. The Cougars, now 3-1 in the postseason, overcame a late Milwaukee rally to take a 1-0 series lead.
Kane County (3-1) struck first against American Association Pitcher of the Year Jhordany Mezquita, scoring twice in the first inning. Armond Upshaw singled and stole second before Josh Allen lined a single to left to bring him home. Matt Bottcher and Jairus Richards followed with singles to load the bases, and Allen scored on a double play to make it 2-0. The Cougars added another run in the second when Upshaw collected his second hit of the night, a bloop single to center that scored Sam Dexter.
Meanwhile, Konnor Ash matched Mezquita pitch-for-pitch. The Cougars’ ace allowed just four hits and one earned run while striking out six over six innings. Milwaukee finally broke through in the fifth when Charlie Marion launched a solo home run off the right-field scoreboard, cutting the deficit to 3-1.
The Milkmen(2-2) pulled within one in the seventh when Wendell Marrero doubled and scored on a Chase Waddell single. Art Warren entered to record the final out, and he later stranded a runner at third in the eighth to preserve the 3-2 lead. Warren and Jake Gozzo combined for four straight strikeouts before Milwaukee finally broke through in the ninth.
Gozzo struck out the first two batters of the ninth, but Milwaukee strung together three consecutive two-out singles, with Yordys Valdez’s RBI single scoring Carlos Linarez to tie the game at 3-3. The Cougars had a chance to answer in the bottom half getting a runner to second with two outs, but Milwaukee’s Alec Olund made a spectacular diving catch in center field on an apparent game-winning hit by Upshaw to send the game to extras.
Zach Veen (1-0) struck out the side in the top of the 10th to keep the game tied. Milwaukee then turned to Matt Givin (0-1) in the bottom half, but Josh Allen was hit by a pitch and eventually came around to score the winning run. After Givin struck out two and walked Nick Dalesandro, Alex McGarry ripped a ground ball through the right side, allowing Allen to race home and give the Cougars the 4-3 walk-off victory. It is the first walk-off victory at home for Kane County this season.
Veen earned the win to move to 1-0 in the postseason, while Givin took the loss and fell to 0-1. The Cougars’ pitching staff combined for 15 strikeouts, while Ash out-dueled the American Association’s Pitcher of the Year in a game that featured dominant pitching from both sides.
The Cougars will continue their best-of-five series with the Milkmen tomorrow, Tuesday, September 15th at Northwestern Medicine Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 PM. For more information, visit kccougars.com or call 630-232-8811.
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