Cougars Rally for Walk-Off Win Sunday

GENEVA, ILL. - The Cedar Rapids Kernels were one out away from victory Sunday at Northwestern Medicine Field, but the Kane County Cougars collected back-to-back two-out RBI hits to claim a 5-4 walk-off triumph. All five total runs for Kane County (8-10, 43-44) were two-out tallies against Cedar Rapids (13-5, 45-42).
Bryan Sammons secured a Kernels-season-high 20-inning scoreless streak with shutout pitching over the first five frames. He stranded multiple runners in scoring position during the second inning and also left two aboard within the fourth inning.

Cedar Rapids jumped on the scoreboard quickly and built a 3-0 advantage. Akil Baddoo hit a leadoff triple in the top of the first and later scored on an RBI single by Jose Miranda. During the fifth inning, Royce Lewis drew a bases-loaded walk to force in Ben Rodriguez before Miranda added another RBI single that brought in Baddoo.
The Cougars answered in the sixth and seventh innings to pull even, 3-3. Tim Susnara's two-out, two-run single within the sixth ended Sammons' scoreless streak. Ernie De La Trinidad produced a two-out, game-tying single during the seventh.
In the top of the eighth, the Kernels secured a 4-3 lead. Robby Rinn hit a one-out double to put the potential go-ahead run in scoring position. Two batters later, Rinn scored on a two-out RBI single from Andrew Bechtold.
Kane County bounced ahead in the bottom of the ninth for a 5-4 walk-off win. Gabriel Maciel reached on a one-out single. After a strikeout, Yoel Yanqui came up to the plate and hit an RBI double that allowed Maciel to score. De La Trinidad singled on the next pitch to bring in Yanqui and end the contest.
Cole Bartlett (3-1) tossed a scoreless top of the ninth and received credit for the victory. Rickey Ramirez (0-2) was charged with a blown save and a loss.
The series finale between Cedar Rapids and Kane County will begin at 12:00 p.m. Monday. Kernels right-hander Randy Dobnak (6-2, 3.74) is slated to start against Cougars right-hander Jhoan Duran (5-3, 4.27). Online coverage with Chris Kleinhans-Schulz will be available on www.kmryradio.com and www.kernels.com.
Cedar Rapids' next homestand begins Wednesday, July 11 and continues through Monday, July 16. Fans can purchase tickets for all Cedar Rapids home games by visiting www.kernels.com, going to the Kernels Ticket Office, or calling (319) 896-7560. The Kernels Ticket Office is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. On Sundays when the Kernels have a home game, the Kernels Ticket Office will open at 11:00 a.m.