News

Trent Carrier threw six solid innings and the DuPage bullpen was perfect in the final three frames of the Hounds’ 4-1 win over the Zephyrs at the Benedictine Dog Pound.

Carrier allowed just one run on five hits in his six quality innings, walking one and striking out two on 68 pitches. He also benefited from two double plays, one in the 2^nd and one in the 5^th.

Hitting for himself, Carrier got the scoring going in the bottom of the 2^nd with a one-out single, advancing to second on the first of five Chicago errors. He later scored on Alex Cain’s RBI single to make it 1-0 DuPage.

The Zephyrs tied it in the top of the 5^th on Bobby Smith’s run-scoring single, but Matt Fallon grounded into the 4-6-3 double play to kill the rally. Carrier then worked out of a 6^th-inning jam that saw him strand men on the corners.

With two out and Drew LaComb on first in the bottom of the 6^th, Emerson Misch hit a lazy flyball that sailed between three Zephyr fielders. Centerfielder Sam Klein dropped the ball and overthrew home plate, allowing LaComb to score and Misch to reach second on the double error.

DuPage County (26-13) built on its 2-1 lead with two runs in the 8^th. Clayton Johannes blooped an RBI single with the infield playing in. The Hounds then went into a hit-and-run that saw Johannes reach second safely on LaComb’s groundball. Stewart Nelson scored from third on the play to make it 4-1.

After Carrier made his exit from the mound, the Hound bullpen went into lockdown mode. Bob Kametas struck out the side in the 7^th, while Purdue teammates Matt Frawley and Adam Dressler turned in perfect 8^th and 9^th innings.

The 9^th inning saw two spectacular defensive plays by the DuPage middle infield. Shortstop Drew LaComb ran down a Drew Bailey groundball and rifled an arching throw in time to first base. Second baseman Stewart Nelson followed with a running stop of his own, throwing out Brent Minta from his knees. The final out was a comebacker to Dressler, who flipped to Carrier on first base to close it out.

The win pulls the Hounds even, for the moment, with the MCL-leading Southland Vikings. Southland has two games left against the Zephyrs on Saturday and Sunday. The Hounds, who have already clinched one of the top-two spots in the league, close out the regular season on Sunday against the Joliet Admirals. That game will be broadcast on dupagehounds.com.

The MCL playoffs start on Tuesday, July 29, as the Hounds will play host to either the Lexington Snipes or Northwest Indiana Oilmen.