Kernels Take 8-0 Lead, Hold on to Beat Peoria 8-4

Cedar Rapids, IA – Cedar Rapids scores four runs in the second and fourth innings and holds off a late Peoria comeback effort to beat the Chiefs for the third time in four games, 8-4.

The Cedar Rapids offense came alive in the bottom of the second to begin the first of two four-run innings. Kala’i Rosario and Noah Miller both took ball four to begin the frame, then a Noah Cardenas double down the left field line scored Rosario to make it 1-0. The next batter, Misael Urbina, ripped a single to score Miller to put the Kernels up by two. Sacrifice flies by Jose Salas and Ben Ross then pushed home Cardenas and Urbina to put CR up 4-0.

Peoria Starter Dionys Rodriguez did not make it out of the second inning and was charged with all four of those runs. Meanwhile, Cedar Rapids starter Marco Raya went just three innings but, again, did not allow a run, facing just nine batters to keep the game 4-0 at the start of the fourth.

After Kyle Jones came out of the bullpen and pitched a scoreless top of the fourth, the Cedar Rapids offense again came to life in the bottom of the fourth. After a single and an error, Emmanuel Rodriguez singled to score a run to extend the Kernels’ lead to five. With runners on the corners, CR pulled off a successful double-steal with Ben Ross and Rodriguez, allowing Ross to score to make it 6-0. With Rodriguez still on second, Kala’i Rosario then came to the plate and crushed his second home run of the series on a missile out to left to put Cedar Rapids up 8-0.

The Chiefs got a run back in the top of the fifth inning on an Aaron McKeithan sac fly to make it 8-1. Then, with the score the same in the top of the eighth inning, Peoria got three more runs to cut the Cedar Rapids in half. After two singles and a wild pitch put runners on second and third with no one out, a two-run error made it 8-3. The next batter, Brody Moore, then delivered an RBI double to make it 8-4, which would be the score after eight.

In the top of the ninth, Peoria loaded the bases sending the tying run to the plate with just one out in the inning. At that time, Regi Grace entered the game and closed out the victory forcing a strikeout and a flyout as the Kernels held on for the 8-4 win.

The win is the third in the first four games for the Kernels (21-16) over Peoria (19-18) in the six-game series as Cedar Rapids improves to match a season-best five games over .500 for the first time since it started 5-0. The Kernels look for their eighth win in nine games tomorrow night at 6:35 with Jordan Carr on the mound against Peoria’s Alex Cornwell.