Kernels Collect Twelve Hits, Knock Off Dayton 8-5

Cedar Rapids, IA - The Cedar Rapids offense scored eight runs on twelve hits Saturday afternoon, coming from behind to top Dayton 8-5 in game five of the season-opening homestand.

Following a comeback win Friday night, Dayton got on the board first in the top of the first inning for the third time in the series. A walk, stolen base and an error put Leo Balcazar on third base, then after a walk he came home to score on a double play to make it 1-0.

In the third, a walk and a single put Dragons on the corners, and a wild pitch plated another Dayton run to increase the lead to 2-0.

With the score still 2-0, the Kernels got on the board in the bottom of the third. After two quick outs, an error followed by a single put two on for Rubel Cespedes, who drove home a run with an RBI single to make it a 2-1 game.

Still, down a run, the Kernels took the lead they would never lose in the bottom of the fifth inning. With one out in the frame, Luke Keaschall walked and stole second base, getting in scoring position for Gabriel Gonzalez, who tied the game with an RBI single. After Gonzalez advanced to second on the throw, the next batter, Cespedes, picked up his second RBI of the day with a base hit to put the Kernels on top. The next two batters, Jose Salas and Misael Urbina, both ripped RBI doubles to give the Kernels a 5-2 lead.

In the top of the sixth inning, Dayton got a run right back. Three straight singles by Sal Stewart, Hector Rodriguez and Ruben Ibarra produced a run to make it 5-3.

In the bottom half of the inning, Keoni Cavaco smashed a solo home run over the wall in left, his first of the season, as the teams traded runs back in fourth, and Cedar Rapids went back up 6-3.

The Dragons would again close within a run in the top of the seventh. With two outs, Ethan O’Donnell collected a base hit, extending the inning to Stewart, who cranked a two-run homer to make it 6-5.

The Kernels, however, again had the answer in the bottom half of the inning. To lead off the frame, Rubel Cespedes mashed his third home run of the series and collected his third RBI of the day and 12th of the set to make it 7-5. Two batters later, Urbina singled, and after a Jay Harry double, Agustin Ruiz collected an RBI groundout to push the lead to 8-5.

After a scoreless eighth inning, Kyle Bischoff came on in relief for Cedar Rapids and closed out his first save of the season as the Kernels took their third game of the series over Dayton 8-5.

The opening homestand wraps up tomorrow at 1:05 with C.J. Culpepper on the mound for the Kernels going for the series victory against Javi Rivera.