Ober Fans 12 Loons in 1-0 Combined Shutout

MIDLAND, MICH. - Bailey Ober registered a career-best eight shutout innings and added a personal-high-tying 12 strikeouts to lead the Cedar Rapids Kernels to a 1-0 win Friday against the Great Lakes Loons at Dow Diamond. Rickey Ramirez completed the contest to secure a three-game sweep along with Cedar Rapids' Midwest League-leading 11th shutout victory.
Ober (7-1) picked up his seventh consecutive winning decision and his third double-digit strikeout performance in a row. He tied his career high in strikeouts that was set only two starts ago back on July 5 against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Ober also became the first Kernel to win seven decisions in a row since Luke Bard's run during the 2015 campaign.

Gerardo Carrillo and Melvin Jimenez combined for scoreless work over the first seven innings for Great Lakes (8-20, 33-63). Carrillo posted six strikeouts over six shutout innings in his Dow Diamond debut. Jimenez tossed a perfect seventh inning after coming in from the bullpen.
Jose Miranda broke up the scoreless deadlock in the eighth to give Cedar Rapids (20-8, 52-45) the only run of the contest. Michael Davis struck out to open the inning, but he reached first base via wild pitch. Another wild pitch during an Akil Baddoo strikeout allowed Davis to get into scoring position. After advanced to third base on Robby Rinn's fly out, Davis scored when Miranda doubled to left field for a 1-0 lead. Jimenez (1-6) was tagged for the loss after giving up the decisive tally.
Ramirez replaced Ober during the ninth inning and notched his first Kernels save. He struck out Deacon Liput and Brandon Montgomery before inducing a game-ending popout from Devin Mann to finish a flawless frame.
The second half of this six-game road swing begins Saturday at 7:05 p.m. ET (6:05 p.m. CT) when the Cedar Rapids Kernels kick off a three-game set with the Lansing Lugnuts. The probable pitchers are Kernels right-hander Blayne Enlow (1-2, 3.49) and Lugnuts right-hander Kyle Weatherly (2-0, 3.11). Fans can follow Saturday's series opener with Chris Kleinhans-Schulz on 1450 KMRY AM and 93.1 KMRY FM and also online at www.kmryradio.com and www.kernels.com.
Cedar Rapids' next homestand runs from Wednesday, July 25 through Sunday, July 29. During the homestand, the Kernels will partner with Minor League Baseball and BUSH'S Beans for a food drive to collect non-perishable food donations for HACAP. 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.