(Cedar Rapids, IA) - The Lake County Captains (11-12, 40-53) were leading for the first four innings on Saturday night, but one big swing opened the flood gates for the Cedar Rapids Kernels (16-7, 48-44). Jose Miranda hit a go-ahead grand slam in the fifth and the Kernels steamrolled the
(Cedar Rapids, IA) - The Lake County Captains (11-12, 40-53) were leading for the first four innings on Saturday night, but one big swing opened the flood gates for the Cedar Rapids Kernels (16-7, 48-44). Jose Miranda hit a go-ahead grand slam in the fifth and the Kernels steamrolled the Captains, 11-3, in the series opener at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Lake County opened the scoring in the first. Nolan Jones singled, Oscar Gonzalez walked and Jose Vicente singled to load the bases. Two batters later, Elvis Perez laced a single into centerfield, scoring both Jones and Gonzalez to put the Captains ahead, 2-0.
The Kernels answered with a run in the bottom of the first. Akil Baddoo singled with one out and Miranda delivered his first big hit in a monster day. He doubled down the left field line, scoring Baddoo from first to trim the Captains' lead to 2-1.
The score remained 2-1 until the bottom of the fifth when the turnstile swung open for Cedar Rapids. Michael Davis led off with a single, Jacob Pearson hit an infield single and Baddoo singled to load the bases. Miranda then crushed a grand slam over the tall wall in left to put the Kernels in front, 5-2.
The barrage continued after the homer. The next three Kernels singled to load the bases again, giving Cedar Rapids seven straight hits to begin the inning. Captains starter Juan Hillman broke the string by striking out Jared Akins, but a flare to center soon turned into another run. David Banuelos hit a soft fly and Jesse Berardi tracked it down from second base. Berardi made an over-the-shoulder catch with his back to home plate and Ben Rodriguez tagged up from third. After making the stunning catch, Berardi wheeled and threw home. Rodriguez slid in just ahead of the tag to give the Kernels a 6-2 advantage.
Jonathan Laureano gave the Captains a lift in the top of the sixth and Lake County nearly mounted a comeback. Laureano led off the frame with a solo homer to left-centerfield against reliever Calvin Faucher. The right-hander then walked the next two batters and Gonzalez hit an infield single with two outs to load the bases. Faucher then struck out Jose Vicente to end the threat and keep the Kernels ahead, 6-3.
Cedar Rapids went on to score at least a run in the next three innings. In the sixth, Captains reliever Maiker Manzanillo hit Pearson with a pitch. Perason moved to second on a wild pitch and Manzanillo walked Baddoo to put two men on with nobody out. Miranda came up next and hit a grounder up the middle, but Berardi made a backhand stab and turned two. Pearson moved to third on the play and then scored on a wild pitch.
The Kernels added three more runs in the seventh. Robby Rinn led off with a triple to the gap in right-center, hustling around the bases after a lunging attempt by Gabriel Mejia fell short. Andrew Bechtold singled through the left side to score Rinn and Akins followed with a single. Later in the frame, Pearson hit a two-run double off of Manzanillo to give the Kernels a 10-3 lead.
Cedar Rapids pushed one more run across in the eighth against Nick Sandlin . Miranda and Rodriguez hit back-to-back singles before Rinn drove in Miranda with a double. The run was Sandlin's first allowed as a professional.
Miranda led the Kernels' offense and finished just a triple shy of the cycle. He went 4-for-5 with a grand slam, a double and five RBIs. He was not the only Cedar Rapids hitter with four hits, as Bechtold went 4-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored.
Kernels starter Jordan Balazovic picked up his fourth straight win. Balazovic (5-1) pitched five innings and allowed two runs on five hits. He struck out four and walked three.
Hillman (3-9) took the loss. The lefty surrendered six runs on 11 hits over five innings. Hillman struck out six and walked one.
The Captains have lost two in a row and Cedar Rapids has won three in a row. Lake County takes on the Kernels again on Sunday afternoon in the middle game of a three-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. ET.
Information about Classic Park or the Captains can be found online at www.captainsbaseball.com and by phone at 440-954-<st1:stockticker w:st="on">WINS (9467). Affordable ticket packages and group party and picnic options are available now.
