GENEVA, Ill. – The Sioux City Explorers (32-38) couldn’t get any luck on their side Friday as they had what many would call a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. It started on the wrong foot as the team was en route to Geneva, and the team’s travel bus burst into flames just before three in the morning in rural Iowa. Although the bus was engulfed in flames, fortunately everyone got off without injury. That incident led to several lost hours of sleep for the team and delayed the start of the game 20 minutes to allow for their arrival. The bad luck continued through the game and the Explorers fell to the Kane County Cougars (42-31) 11-1. Jack Fox (6-3) dealt a shutout over his five innings, helping lead the Cougars effort.
The Cougars cracked onto the board in the bottom of the first when Kane County’s Claudio Finol recorded an RBI single off Sioux City starter Jaren Jackson (1-4), giving the Cougars a 1-0 lead. Kane County’s Josh Allen followed with the Cougars fourth hit of the frame, sending home Todd Lott and extending the lead to 2-0.
Lott kept the offense rolling for the Cougars in the bottom of the second, adding another run to the tally with an RBI single off Sioux City’s Jackson, making it a 3-0 game.
Sioux City’s Jackson turned it around with a shutout third, but the Cougars got back on track in the bottom of the fourth with Kane County’s Todd Lott coming up big again with a two-run shot, extending the Cougars advantage to 5-0.
The Cougars continued to put their mark on the game in the bottom of the fifth, leading off with Kane County’s Josh Allen ripping a no-doubt homer off Sioux City’s Jackson to extend their lead to 6-0. With one out, Sioux City’s Jackson was then relieved by newcomer Andrew Armstrong, and although he got another out, he was relieved with the bases loaded by John Sheaks. Kane County’s Cornelius Randolph then blew the game open with a grand slam off Sheaks, making it a 10-0 game.
Another run came across in the bottom of the sixth on Galli Cribbs Jr.’s sac fly, extending their lead to 11-0.
The X’s avoided the shutout when Sioux City’s Daniel Montano led off the top of the eighth with a solo shot, but that was all the X’s would get in the game as they fell 11-1.
The Explorers will continue their seven-game road trip with game two of a three-game series against the Kane County Cougars Saturday night August 3 at Northwestern Medicine Field in Geneva, Illinois. The first pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
