Heim's Homers Not Enough for Hot Rods

Bowling Green, KY - Despite a two-homer night from catcher Jonah Heim , the Bowling Green Hot Rods lost the rubbermatch of three-game set to the Cedar Rapids Kernels by a score of 7-5 to end a week at Bowling Green Ballpark on Saturday night.  
For the second time in as many games, the Hot Rods fell behind early against the Kernels, as Cedar Rapids scored seven runs in the first two innings against Bowling Green starting pitcher Adrian Navas (L, 2-5).
In the first inning, the Kernels loaded the bases with two outs and got a bases-clearing double by third basemen Caleb Hamilton to score first. One batter later, outfielder Christian Caveness brought him home on a two-run homer to make the score 5-0.
One inning later, first basemen Lewin Diaz hit a two-run blast over the wall to give Cedar Rapids all the run support they needed. The homer for Diaz highlighted his three-hit night.
For the Hot Rods, the homers given up were the first by the pitching staff since May 2 against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. They had a streak of 96 innings without a homer given up streak snapped.
Offensively, the Hot Rods scored all five of their runs on three homers.
Starting in the third inning, shortstop Lucius Fox launched a solo homer against Kernels starter Clark Beeker to put Bowling Green on the board. For Fox, the homer was his first since being traded from the San Francisco Giants organization to the Tampa Bay Rays last August.
The other two homers came from Heim, the first a solo shot in the fifth.
Two innings later, with runners on first and second, Heim deposited a ball over the right-center wall to make the score 7-5.
The multi-homer game was the first of his career. He tied his career-high with 4 RBI set on Friday, when he hit his first-ever grandslam in a 10-0 Hot Rods win.
On the pitching side, the Hot Rods got seven combined innings of scoreless relief combined from three pitchers. Right Ethan Clark threw four scoreless, Brian McAfee tossed a scoreless frame in his first inning since coming off the disabled list and Spencer Jones blanked the Kernels over the final two frames.
The Hot Rods will begin a week on the road on Monday with the opener of a three-game series against the West Michigan Whitecaps. Bowling Green will send RHP JD Busfield to the mound while the Whitecaps will counter with highly-touted RHP Kyle Funkhouser.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. eastern time.
You can also listen in to Play-by-Play Broadcaster Alex Cohen for all the games on www.williecountry.com (Click on BG Listen Live) or on AM 1340 and 97.1 Willie in Southcentral Kentucky.
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