Cedar Rapids Sweeps Doubleheader Friday

BURLINGTON, IOWA - The Cedar Rapids Kernels swept a Friday doubleheader at Community Field by claiming victories of 7-4 and 6-3 in a pair of seven-inning contests against the Burlington Bees. The Kernels (8-1, 40-38) notched their first twin bill sweep of the season to start their four-game series with the Bees (1-8, 31-47).
Cedar Rapids jumped on Burlington for five runs in the first two innings of Friday's opener. Jacob Pearson hit an RBI single in the first and scored after a sacrifice fly from Royce Lewis. Jean Carlos Arias added an RBI single later in the frame. Akil Baddoo collected an RBI single within the top of the second, and Lewis posted a run-scoring single of his own for a 5-0 Kernels lead.

The Bees trimmed their deficit to 5-1 during the bottom of the second. Spencer Griffin opened the inning with a leadoff double. Two batters later, Connor Fitzsimons drove in Griffin via RBI groundout.
The Kernels tallied a run in the fourth before the Bees rallied in their half of the inning. Robby Rinn plated Lewis with an RBI double to give Cedar Rapids a 6-1 advantage. Fitzsimons opened Burlington's rally by hitting an RBI single, and Harrison Wenson followed with a two-run home run that sliced the Kernels' lead to 6-4.
Lewis capped the scoring in game one within the sixth inning. He drilled a one-out double to the center-field wall and scored due to an error on a groundball from Jose Miranda while securing a 7-4 edge.
Bailey Ober (4-1) earned his fourth consecutive winning decision after holding Burlington to four runs in five innings. Isaac Mattson (5-3) gave up five runs and a career-high nine hits over two frames. Melvi Acosta pitched perfect sixth and seventh innings for his second save.
Both sides scored in the opening stanza during the nightcap. Baddoo crushed a solo home run on the first pitch of the contest, and Rinn plated a run of his own via error. Burlington cut the difference to 2-1 with Keinner Piña's RBI double.
The Kernels tallied three runs within the top of the third for a 5-1 advantage. Arias led off with a solo shot to right field. Lewis followed with a double and later scored on a two-out double from Andrew Bechtold. Trey Cabbage batted next and hit a triple to bring in Bechtold.
Burlington was unable to catch up to Cedar Rapids in the late innings. Kevin Williams Jr.' two-out RBI single in the fifth allowed Torii Hunter Jr. to come home, but Cedar Rapids increased its lead to 6-2 within the sixth on Ben Rodriguez's solo round-tripper. Williams also produced a two-out RBI double during the seventh before Cedar Rapids clinched its 6-3 triumph.
Jared Finkel (4-3) only yielded two runs in 2.2 innings pitched and received credit for the win. Luis Madero (2-6) was tagged with the loss after allowing 10 hits and five runs including four earned runs. Jose Martinez recorded his second save by inducing a one-pitch groundout from Piña to end game two.
Game three of this four-game series is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Saturday. The probable pitchers are Cedar Rapids right-hander Jordan Balazovic (2-1, 3.05) and Burlington right-hander Denny Brady (0-1, 1.13). Chris Kleinhans-Schulz will call Saturday's contest on 1450 KMRY AM and 93.1 KMRY FM and also online at www.kmryradio.com and www.kernels.com.
Cedar Rapids' next homestand is a two-game series with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers that begins on Wednesday, July 4th. 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.