Fort Wayne Wizards at Kane County Cougars

June 14th, 2001



History was made here today, and not more than 300 people saw it happen. The Cougars pitchers threw the second no hitter in club history as three pitchers combined to get it done. Gustavo Lopez, Chris Key and Mike Flannery.

Gustavo Lopes started the game and went four and two thirds innings. Then unfortunatly the rains came and it poured and the lightning came. After around an hour and twenty minute rain delay, Chris Key warmed up to come in the game. Key went the next three and one thirds innings, not allowing the ball to get hit out of the infield. Mike Flannery pitched the ninth, he made it through with a walk. The final out was a grounder to short, Wilson threw the ball to second to force the runner, and that was history.

At one point Cougars pitchers retired 22 men in a row. Key retired all 10 he faced.

I feel very sorry for Lopez as he was pitching so well and then the rains came and he wasn't going to come out after the delay was over. He didn't even qualify for the victory.

Offensivly the Cougars found their bats, Will Smith lead the way with three hits. He scored two runs and hit his eleventh homer of the season. Adrian Gonzalez also had three hits, one way of the infield variety, and the other two were run scoring doubles to right. Miguel Cabrera had three hits, he got two doubles and a single.

I have to tell you all about this defensive play in the fourth inning. J.P. Woodward lined one up the middle. Second baseman Matt Easterday somehow dove for the ball and got the ball in his glove, it was a tremendous effort to just stop the ball. Then he got up and threw Woodward out at first.


The scoring began in the third inning when with one out Josh Wilson singled to left. Wilson would make third on a pickoff play gone bad by the Wizards. Pitcher Oliver Perez threw the ball down the right field line. Will Smith then singled to left, to score Wilson. Adrian Gonzalez then doubled to right. Jim Kavourias then hit a long sacrifice fly to right, Smith would score. Pat Magness singled to left to score Gonzalez. Magness would be thrown out at second trying to get a double by the left fielder, there was no way that he was out though.

Will Smith hammered the first pitch he saw after the rain delay onto the bleachers in right field for his eleventh homer of the season. Gonzalez then doubled to right. Two outs later Cabrera doubled to right to score Gonzalez.

In the sixth with two outs Josh Wilson would make it to first on a droped third strike/wild pitch. Wilson would then make it to second on another bad pick off play. Smitht singled to right to score Wilson.

Wizards
Name POS AB R H RBI
Lee McCool 2B 4 0 0 0
J.J. Furmaniak SS 3 0 0 0
Mike Davis LF 3 0 0 0
J.P. Woodward 1B 3 0 0 0
Craig Thompson DH 2 0 0 0
Kevin Reese RF 3 0 0 0
Chris Fears CF 3 0 0 0
Andres Pagan C 3 0 0 0
John Puccinelli 3B 3 0 0 0
Cougars
Name POS AB R H RBI
Josh Wilson SS 5 2 1 0
Will Smith LF 5 2 3 3
Adrian Gonzalez 1B 4 2 3 0
Jim Kavourias RF 3 0 0 1
Pat Magness DH 3 0 2 1
Miguel Cabrera 3B 4 0 3 1
Francisco Ferrand CF 4 0 1 0
Dennis Anderson C 3 0 0 0
Matt Easterday 2B 4 0 0 0

E-McCool, Perez, Earey, LOB FW-3, KC-8, 2B-Ferrand, Gonzalez 2, Cabrera 2, HR-Smith (Earey), SACF-Kavourias

Fort Wayne 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
Kane County 0 0 3 0 2 1 0 0 X 6 13 0

Wizards
Name IP H R ER BB SO Decison WP BK HB
Oliver Perez 4 8 3 3 1 2 L (6-3) 0 0 0
Ryan Earey 4 5 3 2 1 3 ND 1 0 0

Cougars
Name IP H R ER BB SO Decison WP BK HB
Gustavo Lopez 4.2 0 0 0 1 1 ND 1 0 1
Chris Key 3.1 0 0 0 0 3 W (2-0) 0 0 0
Mike Flannery 1 0 0 0 1 0 ND 0 0 0

PB-Anderson, HB-Davis (Lopez), SO-Fears 2, McCool, Pagan, Kavourias 3, Wilson, Ferrand, BB-Furmaniak, Thompson, Magness, Anderson


3:45
6,455

Notes-I wanna say great job to the grounds crew, because it was pouring and that field took a lot of water in a short period of time. The only wet spot was right field, bsides that it looked good.