Povich's birthday brilliance, clutch hitting leads Kernels to 8-1 win at Quad Cities

Cedar Rapids, IA – Cedar Rapids Kernels southpaw Cade Povich struck out eight - including the final six batters he faced - on his 22nd birthday while the lineup came through with a pair of big hits to spark an 8-1 win at Quad Cities on Tuesday.

Povich allowed a single and a walk with one away in the first, then retired the final 14 batters he faced to finish with 5.0 scoreless innings of work. He threw 45 strikes on 69 pitches while dicing up the River Bandits.

Cedar Rapids struck first in the opening frame as Anthony Prato (1-for-4, BB, R, 3B) blasted a triple to right to lead things off then scored on a Christian Encarnacion-Strand (0-for-5, RBI) groundout.

Keeping things rolling in the fourth, Aaron Sabato (1-for-4, BB, R) singled then Wander Javier (2-for-4, R, 2B) ripped a double down the left field line. Alerick Soularie (0-for-2, BB, HBP, 2 R) was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Seth Gray (2-for-3, BB, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI), who promptly smashed a two-run double off the right field wall. Jair Camargo (1-for-3, BB, R, HR, 3 RBI) welcomed a new pitcher to the game with a three-run home run to left-center, making it 6-0 Cedar Rapids.

The Kernels added two more in the sixth on a pair of wild pitches as a Quad Cities reliever completely lost his control.

Miguel Rodriguez (2.0 IP, 2 H, R, 2 BB, K), Derek Molina (1.0 IP, BB, K) and Andrew Cabezas (1.0 IP, 3 K) combined for 4.0 innings of one-run relief to finish things off.

The Kernels pitching staff has allowed just one run in their last 20.1 innings of work, holding opponents to five hits across their last two games.

Game two of the series is set for 6:30 pm on Wednesday evening at Modern Woodman Park and can be heard on Classic KMRY and the Kernels Baseball Network.

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