The first think you see when you enter the right field gate at Northwestern Medicine Field in Genea, Illinois is the reminder that the Kane County Cougars are two-time MWL champs.

The Cougars won their first MWL title in 2001 when they were a Marlins affiliate. Their last title came in 2014 with the young Cubs.

Earlier today, the Cougars faced the Winnipeg Goldeyes in the second game of the best if five Myles Wolff Cup series. Kane County walked off the win Saturday to take a 1-0 lead (and go 5-0 in the American Association postseason).

MLB gave the Cougars and 42 other minor league teams the gate in 2019 and they joined the AA in 2021. This is their first major run in the postseason.

Rather than diving into the backstories of multiple players and their chances of returning to affiliated baseball, I’ll focus on a couple interesting players .and today’s nail-biter.

The other day, I was discussing the older players that still toil in independent leagues and the perseverance (a positive term) when everything seems stacked against them. It takes a special bird, and I’ve always found it difficult to discuss it with guys that were either top prospects and never made it or others that had a cup of iced tea in the big leagues and are less likely to return.

31-year-old shortstop, Galli Cribbs, was an undrafted free agent signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2014. He played for Kane County in 2015 and 16 and was less than a marginal talent. And after getting released by Arizona, he returned to the independent league Cougars in 2021. Unfortunately, his numbers haven’t been very good at this level either (he was hitting .174 this year). However, he is beloved by the Cougar faithful, many of whom are new to the team.

Despite changes in ML affiliation (Baltimore, Florida, Oakland, K.C, Cubs, and Arizona) over the years, the team has always had a strong following. I saw several fans at today’s game that went back to the early 1990’s. Even the new breed of Cougar fan is loud and feisty-they gave the umps a pretty hard time despite getting the majority of calls.

Heading into the weekend, I was considering three options for where I’d spend my Sunday. Unfortunately, Game 1 of the MWL Finals was being played this evening in Appleton. Likewise, the drive to Indy for a late season AAA game would require 6 hours on the road. Kane County was offering $5 seats, free parking and a 102-mile roundtrip ride.

Elfstrom Stadium was always a fan friendly ballpark and it’s still easy to chat with players and coaches before, during and after the game as the players have to walk through the concourse to get to the locker rooms.

The most recognizable name on either roster was Cornelius Randolph, a 26-yer-old outfielder for Kane County. I recalled the name but had to do a little digging to remember where I knew him from. It turns out that he was the Phillies first round pick back in 2015 and played in the AFL Rising Stars game in 2017. Aside from driving in the winning run in Saturday night’s game, he hit .342 which was good enough for third in the league. I asked him if hitting for average still mattered to guys and he said that guys are proud to hit for average. Go figure, not everyone is all chesty about hitting a robust .220.

With two outs in the bottom of the 4th innings, Randolph’s single to right broke up Winnipeg’s Landen Bourassa’s no-hitter. The 27-year-old Alberta native cruised through the first 3 innings, hitting one batter (who was summarily disposed of on a 4-6-3 double play) and 3 strikeouts. Randolph stole second easily and scored equally easily on a Todd Lott.

People are often surprised when a single, 4th inning run is good enough, but when the pitcher who benefited from the lone run, is rolling, it’s a foregone conclusion.

Not only was Cougars starter, Jack Fox dealing, he was unhittable. He walked one Goldeye batter in the 2nd inning, but at no time did they have a chance of reaching base safely. All seven fly balls were handled successfully and nonchalantly. And since he only struck out three guys, the game moved along at breakneck speed.

For their part, Kane County squandered the few opportunities they had and didn’t add to that third inning run. For whatever reason, Cougar manager, George Tsamis, yanked Fox after 7 innings of no-hit ball.

Former Marlins prospect and one-time Beloit Snapper, CJ Carter took the bump in the top of the 8th. Despite walking the first batter he faced, he preserved the no-hitter, retiring the next three batters.

Bourassa exited the game after 7.2 innings of 8-hit, one run baseball. His replacement escaped a two-out jam by inducing a grounder to third. Nobody in my section (behind home) mentioned the no-hitter until closer, Tyler Beardsley came in to begin the 9th inning. Ramon Bramasco looped the first pitch he saw for a clean, single to left to break up the no-hitter. In the first of successive hitters, Dayson Croes tried to lay one down, hitting a looper between the mound and home. Beardsley “dove/slid/reached for the ball and whiffed on it. Croes reached safely for the second hit of the game. Edwin Arroyo added insult to injury and laid down a beautiful sacrifice, advancing the runners to second and third. Of course, Beardsley hit the next batter, loading the bases (only one out). Editor’s note: Two innings earlier with Miles Simington in the on-deck circle, some random Winnipeg fan came down and asked said hi and asked him how he was doing. Despite being no-hit, he responded. Only in minor league ball. Back in the day, ML players might interact.

The aforementioned, Simington hit the first pitch back to Beardsley, who threw home to get the lead runner and the catcher, Simon Reid, threw to first for a 1-2-3, game-ending double play. It all happened too quickly for me to snap any pictures (the curse of sitting behind a net). I admit to fearing the Cougars would lose 6-1 or something after botching the combined no-hitter.

Instead, most of the 971 fans left happy after sending the team off to Winnipeg for the rest of the series. I can’t remember the last time I attended a 1:59 minute, 9-inning game.