Cabbage, Rortvedt Blast Kernels to 7-6 Victory

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA - Two-run home runs by Trey Cabbage and Ben Rortvedt lifted the Cedar Rapids Kernels to a 7-6 win Saturday evening against the West Michigan Whitecaps in front of 3,598 fans at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Cedar Rapids (14-9) tied this three-game series, 1-1, with Saturday's triumph over West Michigan (16-12).
Round-trippers in the sixth and seventh innings put the Kernels ahead for good. Cabbage launched a no-doubter to right field against Oswaldo Castillo that broke a 3-3 tie during the sixth. Rortvedt added a home run to right field off Castillo within the seventh for a 7-3 Cedar Rapids lead. The four runs conceded by Castillo were the first runs that he allowed this season, and he fell to 3-1 with his first loss of the year.

West Michigan answered with a three-run blast in the eighth but could not completely eliminate its deficit. The Whitecaps closed the gap to 7-6 on an eighth-inning home run from Dylan Rosa. Kernels reliever Nick Brown shut down the rest of batters that he faced and ended the contest with four strikeouts in a row.
Randy Dobnak was the winning pitcher and improved to 3-0 with his third consecutive win. He tallied a team-high five strikeouts and only allowed two runs over five innings pitched in his first relief appearance of the season.
The Whitecaps opened Saturday's scoring with Zac Shepherd's RBI double in the second inning. The Kernels pulled in front during the fourth with a pair of runs including a go-ahead single by Cabbage. Cole Peterson scored on a wild pitch within the fifth to tie the game before Cedar Rapids regained the lead on a sacrifice fly from Jose Miranda. Shepherd evened the contest at 3-3 in the sixth with an RBI single as part of a 4-for-4 performance.
Sunday's series finale is slated for 2:05 p.m., and Kernels southpaw Bryan Sammons (0-2, 3.06) will pitch against Whitecaps left-hander Eudis Idrogo (0-2, 0.38). Morgan Hawk will call the contest on 1450 KMRY AM and 93.1 KMRY FM and also online at www.kmryradio.com, www.kernels.com, and MiLB.TV.
Perfect Game USA sponsors the 2018 Kernels Baseball Card Set Giveaway for the first 1,000 fans and the annual Chuck Fulton Memorial Home Run Derby after the contest for children aged 12 and under. Fans can play catch on the field following the game and get autographs from the Kernels courtesy of Prairie Farms and 104.5 KDAT. It is also a Western Fraternal Life Kids Eat Free Sunday. Plus, Travel Advisors Baseball Bingo, Papa Balloon, and Face Painting by Kennedy are also on tap for Sunday.
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.