Kristin Lake, a Cougars fan from suburban
Plainfield, has been announced as the winner
of the Grand Slam Inning, presented by the
Daily Herald newspaper. Lake held the lucky
seat number of Section 104, Row L, Seat 5
for the August 14 Cougars vs. Cedar Rapids
Kernels game. For each Cougars regular
season home game in 2008, the Cougars
offered one lucky seat holder a prize of
$10,000 if the fourth Cougars batter in the
sixth inning hit a grand slam. Another
$10,000 would be donated to Ozzie’s
Outreach, the Cougars’ charitable initiative
that contributes to a variety of causes
throughout the year.
Sure enough, Cougars first baseman Greg
Dowling strode to the plate as the fourth
batter in the sixth inning August 14 against
the Kernels. Teammates Todd Johnson, Jake
Smith and Justin Frash had each reached base
to open the frame and load the bases for the
Cougars slugger. Dowling, who had hit the
first minor league home run in Wrigley Field
history during last month’s historic game
against the Peoria Chiefs, connected on a
pitch with the sacks full to send 7,330 fans
into a fever with the anticipation of
winning $10,000. The game was halted
temporarily as Cougars P.A. announcer Kevin
Sullivan read the winning seat number –
first by section, then row, and finally
seat. Lake, who was not present at the time
the winning number was read, was told by a
co-worker the next morning to check her
ticket stub. After realizing she held the
lucky ticket stub in her daughter’s
stroller, a rush of emotions was felt.
“I started shaking because I never win
anything,” said Lake, who attended the game
with husband Tony and daughters Madison and
Megan. “I was nervous because I had the
ticket but am still in shock!”
Lake was part of the Infogix, Inc. company
outing. The company, based out of
Naperville, has attended Cougars games in
past years as part of their group outing and
pre-game picnic at Elfstrom Stadium.
When asked what she enjoys most about a
Cougars game, Lake said she appreciates the
family atmosphere and the various
entertainment that appeals to young and old
Cougars fans alike.
The fun certainly didn’t end after the sixth
inning. Later in the game, the Cougars
staged a two-out, walk-off ninth inning
rally to send the fans into another
energetic frenzy. The evening closed with a
dazzling post-game fireworks show and an
opportunity for all fans to go on the field
and run the bases.
“What a tremendous night for our fans!”,
said Cougars General Manager Jeff Sedivy.
“We’d like to congratulate the Lake family
for being the winning seat holder through
our Daily Herald Grand Slam Inning. Last
night’s fun is yet another example of what
our fans have enjoyed for the past 18
seasons as part of the ‘Cougars experience’.
”
Interestingly enough, Dowling has certainly
had his share of memorable home runs in his
Cougars career. On August 10, 2007 at
Elfstrom Stadium, Dowling smashed two home
runs in the same inning which was the first
such occurrence in franchise history. In
addition to the aforementioned home run at
Wrigley field last July, Dowling’s grand
slam last night was his 233rd career hit at
Kane County, which breaks another
long-standing franchise record. Dowling, a
19th round pick of the A’s in 2006, is now
the Cougars’ career leader in hits,
surpassing former Cougar David Callahan (232
hits), who played at Kane County in 1999 and
2000.
KANE COUNTY
COUGARS
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(630) 232-8811 FAX: (630) 232-8815
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