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Alex Cain knocked in the go-ahead run in the top of the 10^th inning, helping his own cause on the mound in the DuPage County Hounds’ 5-4 extra-inning win over the Lexington Snipes in Bloomington.

With the game tied 4-4 in the bottom of the 9^th, Cain moved over from first base to the pitchers’ mound for his second appearance of the year. After surrendering a walk and a single, Cain fought to three straight outs, concluding with back-to-back strikeouts with runners on second and third.

In the top of the 10^th inning, Clayton Johannes was plunked by a Nick Barnhill pitch and soon after stole second. That brought up Cain, leadoff hitter for the night, who laced a dying line drive that bounced out of first baseman Matt James’s glove. Johannes scored on the RBI single to put DuPage up 5-4.

Cain experienced deja-vu with a walk and single to start the bottom of the 10^th. But catcher Mike Roberson threw out Zach Barkdull, Lexington’s catcher, as he tried to steal third base. Cain walked the next hitter as well, but induced Chris Maranto to hit a groundball to shortstop. Connor Kopach swept it in his glove, stepped on second base, and rifled to Brian Lees at first for the game-ending double play.

Cain’s two hard-nosed scoreless innings were enough to earn him the W. He finished 3-5 at the plate with a run and two RBIs and also stole three bases.

The Hounds (11-3) swiped seven bags on eight attempts throughout the game. Other stars at the plate included Johannes (1-4, one run, two RBIs, one stolen base) and Trent Carrier (1-3, two runs).

The Snipes (5-6) fell behind 1-0 in the top of the 1^st when Connor Kopach drove in Cain on a single, but the home team responded with Adam Casson’s RBI groundout in the bottom of the frame.

DuPage retook the lead off Lexington starter Kyle Weller in the 2^nd on Johannes’s RBI groundout. Cain’s single in the 4^th and Johannes’s base knock in the 6^th provided insurance for the Hounds. Last week, Weller kept the Hounds without a hit until the 9^th inning in a 4-2 Snipes win.

Christian Bokich took the 4-1 lead into the 6^th inning before running out of gas. With the bases loaded and one out, Jeff Cardenas lined a two-run double down the left field line. Chase Thurston then walked consecutive batters, including Eric Fight with the bases loaded to tie the game, 4-4.

Thurston rebounded for a scoreless 7^th inning, and Josh Davis kept Lexington off the board in the 8^th.

The Hounds finished with a 4-2 record on their six-game road trip. The team returns home to face the very same Lexington Snipes tomorrow night. Game time is 7:00 at Benedictine University.