Martin Homer Helps Goldeyes Complete Sweep
GENEVA, IL – The Winnipeg Goldeyes (41-37) defeated the Kane County Cougars 5-3 Sunday afternoon at Northwestern Medicine Field.
The Goldeyes swept the three-game series and have now won eight of their last ten contests.
Winnipeg manufactured a pair of runs in the top of the second inning to open the scoring. First Raul Navarro came home on Logan Hill’s groundout to shortstop, then Dakota Conners drove in Kevin Lachance with a sacrifice fly to left field.
The Goldeyes extended their lead to 4-0 in the third when Kyle Martin belted his 28th home run of the year to centre field with Max Murphy on first base. Martin is now one four-bagger shy of tying single-season club record of 29 set by Sean Hearn in 1998 and equalled by Juan Diaz in 2009.
Murphy brought Conners home with a sacrifice fly to centre field in the top of the sixth inning to give Winnipeg a five-run lead.
Kane County (37-43) broke through in the bottom of the seventh inning when Mitch Reeves crossed the plate on Dalys Binder’s fielder’s choice to cut the Goldeyes’ lead to 5-1. The run broke a string of 18 consecutive scoreless innings for the Goldeyes pitching staff dating back to the sixth inning Friday.
The Cougars added two more runs in the eighth. Mark Karaviotis hit a solo home run to left field before Kacy Clemens scored on a throwing error to make it 5-3 in favour of Winnipeg.
Jorge Gonzalez (4-4) started and earned the victory for the Goldeyes. He worked six and one-third innings and allowed just one earned run on five hits while striking out three. Donnie Hart pitched a perfect ninth to record his fourth save. Starter Connor Berry (2-1) was charged with the loss for Kane County. He allowed four runs on six hits over five innings pitched.
Winnipeg now returns to Shaw Park where they will begin a three-game series with the Gary SouthShore RailCats Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. All the action can be heard locally on CJNU 93.7 FM and worldwide at www.cjnu.ca.
Advanced tickets for all Goldeyes home games are on sale now by visiting www.ticketmaster.ca. For more information about the Winnipeg Goldeyes’ 2021 remaining schedule, ticket options, and the Goldeyes’ comprehensive COVID-19 readiness plan, visit www.goldeyes.com.
