Clinton Dominates Wednesday's Opener

CLINTON, IOWA - A six-run sixth inning helped the Clinton LumberKings pull away for a 9-0 victory Wednesday against the Cedar Rapids Kernels at NelsonCorp Field. Clinton (35-23, 68-59) claimed a 1-0 series lead with its shutout win over Cedar Rapids (32-26, 71-57).
The LumberKings opened the scoring Wednesday with three runs in the first inning. Peyton Burdick's go-ahead single plated Christopher Torres. Three batters later, Evan Edwards singled to bring in Burdick and J.D. Osborne for a 3-0 advantage.

Within the bottom of the sixth, Clinton stretched its lead to 9-0. Osborne hit a two-run home run to notch his ninth blast of the season. Will Banfield, Thomas Jones, and Torres drove in insurances runs on RBI singles. Torres tallied a final run after a Bubba Hollins single coupled with an error.
Josh Roberson (2-4) recorded his first win since his LumberKings debut in April while snapping a four-game skid. Roberson had six strikeouts over six shutout innings. He allowed three hits but did not give up a walk.
Nathan Alexander and Peyton Culbertson combined for scoreless relief to complete the three-hitter. Alexander tallied four strikeouts in two innings pitched, and Culbertson faced the minimum in the ninth inning.
Luis Rijo (5-8) led all pitchers with seven strikeouts in 5.1 innings Wednesday, but he was also the losing pitcher. Rijo yielded five runs and seven hits.
First pitch for Thursday's contest between Cedar Rapids and Clinton is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., and the probable pitchers are Kernels right-hander Matt Canterino (1-0, 0.90) and LumberKings right-hander Tanner Andrews (6-4, 3.94). Broadcast coverage with Chris Kleinhans-Schulz will be available on 1450 KMRY AM and 93.1 KMRY FM and also online at www.kmryradio.com and www.kernels.com.
Fans can purchase tickets for all 2019 Cedar Rapids Kernels home games including the playoff opener September 4 against the Quad Cities River Bandits by visiting www.kernels.com, going to the Kernels Ticket Office, or calling (319) 896-7560. The Kernels Ticket Office is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays. On Sundays when the Kernels have a home game, the Kernels Ticket Office will open at 11:00 a.m.