Chiefs Take Two from the Kernels 6-5 and 13-2

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The Chiefs came from four down to win the completion of the suspended game 6-5 before striking for 13 runs in game two in a 13-2 victory to sweep Cedar Rapids Saturday night.

After scoring three runs in the first inning on Thursday, the Kernels got the offense going early again on Friday. With one out in the bottom of the first frame, Eduardo Tait and Danny De Andrade crushed back-to-back home runs to put Cedar Rapids in front right away, 2-0.

That stayed the score through two and a half innings. Dasan Hill got the start for Cedar Rapids and was sharp across three innings of work, not allowing a run while striking out six.

In the bottom of the third, rain came down at Veterans Memorial Stadium and forced the game to be suspended and picked up Saturday afternoon.

When the game resumed, Dameury Pena singled, putting two on in the bottom of the third after a De Andrade walk. A groundout moved the pair into scoring position for Quinn McDaniel, who upped the lead to 3-0 with an RBI groundout. A batter later, Andy Lugo continued his hot stretch with an RBI single to make it 4-0.

Peoria hopped on the board in the top of the fifth. Luis Pino doubled to begin the inning and scored on a pair of groundouts, including a Jack Gurevitch RBI groundball to cut the deficit to 4-1.

The Chiefs got within one in the sixth. An Ian Petrutz single and an Anyelo Encarnacion walk put two on for Pino, who made it a 4-3 game with a two-run triple.

In the top of the seventh, the Chiefs took the lead. Jalin Flores doubled to begin the inning, and he scored two batters later on a Cade McGee RBI double to tie the game, 4-4. With McGee in scoring position, Encarnacion put Peoria in front 5-4.

Cedar Rapids pulled even in the bottom of the inning. Singles from Pena and McDaniel, followed by a Lugo walk, loaded the bases for Miguel Briceno, who re-tied the game, 5-5, with an RBI single.

That stayed the score through nine innings. In the top of the tenth, an Encarnacion RBI single to right plated the extra-inning run runner to put the Chiefs back in front 6-5.

In the bottom of the tenth, Cedar Rapids put two runners in scoring position, but Peoria’s Christian Worley locked down the final three outs to secure the 6-5 Chiefs win.

In game two, the Chiefs opened the scoring in the top of the first inning. Tai Peete doubled to begin the game, and after a couple of groundouts, including an RBI one from Jalin Flores, Peoria took the lead 1-0.

Peoria added to the lead in the top of the third. A Cameron Nickens walk opened the inning in front of Peete, who doubled the lead with an RBI triple. A batter later, Gurevitch made it a 3-0 advantage with an RBI single. After a walk moved him to second, he went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a passed ball to make the lead 4-0.

The Kernels got on the board for the first time in the fourth. De Andrade doubled to begin the inning and scored two batters later on a Pena RBI single to make it 4-1.

But that was the closest the Kernels would get. The Chiefs scored two in the fifth, two in the sixth on a Peete home run and five more in the seventh, which included a Peete RBI single to complete the cycle and push the Peoria lead to 13-1.

In the bottom of the seventh, Byron Chourio provided a bright spot for the Kernels, crushing his first high-A home run in his Cedar Rapids debut, but that was the end of the scoring on the night in the 13-2 Chiefs win.

The pair of defeats drop the Kernels to 38-61 on the season and to 7-28 in the second half. The series with Peoria wraps up Sunday at 1:05. Ivran Romero gets the start opposite Nate Dohm.