Cougars' Brockmeyer completes cycle

Cael Brockmeyer has always had a hard time finishing off a cycle, finding the triple to be a hidden treasure. He finally got one on Sunday, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

The Cubs prospect delivered a two-run triple to break a ninth-inning tie and complete Class A Kane County's first cycle in nine years as the Cougars defeated Beloit, 9-7, at Pohlman Field.

"It was a pretty exciting day," said Brockmeyer, who drove in a career-high four runs. "It was definitely pretty cool, the first one of my baseball career. It was a pretty good feeling to get the cycle and get the team the win."

Brockmeyer doubled in the second inning, then launched his second homer of the season in the third before flying out in the fifth. He singled in the eighth, setting up his dramatic final at-bat.

"Honestly, coming up in that at-bat I was looking for a pitch up to drive the guy in. It was a warm day and I didn't want it to go extras," he said. "I just got a good pitch to hit and fortunately, once it hit the wall and bounced back I knew I had a chance at third, so I just went for it."

The cycle was the first for the Cougars since Tommy Everidge completed the feat on June 25, 2005, when the club was affiliated with the Oakland Athletics.

The 22-year-old catcher entered the game with six extra-base hits in 37 games this season. In 215 at-bats since the Cubs selected in the 16th round of last year's Draft, Brockmeyer had tripled once while slugging just one homer, making him an unlikely candidate to hit for the cycle.

"I've come close and it has always been that triple that has always eluded me," he said. "The guys were joking with me that they weren't expecting me to be the first guy to hit for the cycle, especially because I'm kind of a beer guy, not exactly known as a speedster.

"They were all pretty pumped for me. They were asking if I knew I needed a triple because they saw me as I was going towards second kind of put it into an extra gear to go to third. It was a pretty fun moment in the dugout, to be sure."

Brockmeyer broke out of a 1-for-12 slump, crediting some extra work for a game in which he set career highs for RBIs and hits.

"My hands have been in a good slot lately" the Cal State-Bakersfield product said. "I've been doing a lot of early work with the coaches and right now, getting my foot down early and getting my hands through. It's been going well and I was able to get some good pitches."

Jacob Hannemann, the Cubs' 16th-ranked prospect homered and drove in three runs for the Cougars.

Corbin Hoffner (2-1) got the win, despite giving up a run on two hits in one inning, and Tyler Bremer worked around a hit in the ninth for his 10th save.

Phillip Pohl went 3-for-4 with four RBIs for the Snappers, falling a triple shy of another cycle. B.A. Vollmuth doubled three times and scored three runs in the loss.