OCONOMOWOC, Wis. – The Lake Country DockHounds faltered late and dropped game one against the Kane County Cougars 11-7 Friday night in Wisconsin Brewing Company Park.
After jumping on the Kane County starter, the DockHounds hit around the order and strung together five runs in the first inning.
“Just going out aggressive, sticking to our game and trying to put up runs for our pitching staff and just play aggressive,” DockHounds designated hitter Justin Lavey said.
With the offense striking early and often, Lake Country had the Cougars right where they wanted them. However, the resilient first-place Kane County offense kept chipping away.
The Cougars scored twice in the third, once in the fourth, before plating five in the sixth. That sixth inning had a demoralizing effect on the DockHounds.
“That’s just part of the game,” Lavey said. “It’s going to happen to everyone a couple of times to every team in the season so it’s how you answer.”
The DockHounds had glimpses of two late rallies in both the eighth and ninth innings. Lake Country got two runners on with less than two outs in each inning and wasn’t able to capitalize.
“I think it’s just sticking to our process and trusting one another and kind of having that next man up mentality,” Lavey said. “But we can’t look back and say that was the only opportunity we had.”
A Lavey home run and a Blake Tiberi run-scoring double were the only runs Lake Country could scratch across after the first inning. Lavey’s promising stretch of hard contact has started to turn into runs and hits for the DockHounds. He was named the “Top Dog” of the game.
“It feels good, I wished the team could have gotten the win but we will rebound and come back tomorrow,” Lavey said.
Lake Country is back at 6:05 p.m. Saturday for game two against Kane County.
Written By: Noah Douglas
