By Jack Ankony, Chicago Dogs

In a nine-inning game, a two-run deficit is nothing.

With the Dogs trailing 3-1, Harrison Smith hit a chopper towards third base, and a diving Grant LaValley couldn’t knock it down. Ryan Lidge and Johnny Adams sprinted around third base with no intention of stopping to tie the game at three runs apiece.

Kane County elected to walk Michael Crouse, who had two hits today, to set up a force out at each base. But Brennan Metzger got just enough of the pitch for a sacrifice fly to take a 4-3 lead. Adams crushed a ball over the center field fence to add two crucial insurance runs in the 9th.

After Scott Firth gave up one run and Jonathon Crawford allowed two, the big lefty Kevin Marnon shut Kane County down in the 8th. Dogs closer and 97 miles-per-hour flamethrower Paul Schwendel locked things down in the 9th to secure a 6-4 win, despite an error from Adams that allowed the Cougars to score.

Dogs starter Connor Grey didn’t let the gray, dreary skies of Geneva, Illinois cool him off on Opening Day. Grey was throwing heat to start the game, as the Kane County Cougars struggled to time his 93 mile-an-hour fastball.

Grey finished the game pitching 3.2 innings with five strikeouts, zero earned runs and two walks. It looked as if he could pitch deep into this game, but two walks in the 4th inning made Dogs manager Butch Hobson look to the bullpen.

Grey’s nice start might have stemmed from his comfort pitching at Northwestern Medicine Field in 2017 as a member of the Kane County Cougars. Grey threw the first perfect game in Kane County Cougars history against the Clinton LumberKings in 2017 when he struck out eight batters on 100 pitches.

After Grey’s intriguing start, it was anything but easy treading for the Dogs bullpen. Firth replaced Grey out of the bullpen and struggled to contain the Cougars’ lineup. Firth pitched 1.1 innings and gave up one run, struck out one and walked one.

Kane County’s Mitch Reeves found a gap in the Dogs defense in the bottom of the 5th to tie the game at one. Anfernee Seymour stole second to advance himself into scoring position, and scored on the next pitch after the single from Reeves.

Crawford replaced Firth, but loaded the bases in the 6th and was replaced by Jeff Kinley. Kinley hit the first batter he faced to give Kane County a 2-1 lead. Reeves continued his hot night with a sacrifice fly in the 6th off of Kinley, making it a 3-1 game. Crawford was credited with the Cougars’ second and third runs.

After a slow start for the Dogs offense, the lineup caught fire in the 8th inning to complete an impressive comeback. Ryan Lidge led the Dogs going 4-for-4 with four singles, while Crouse and Adams added two hits each.

A comeback win is sure to provide morale for the Dogs in their Opening Day win. Two more games at Kane County are on the schedule for Wednesday and Thursday at 6:30 p.m. CT. This win marks the third season-opening win in a row for the Dogs.

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