Dayton Holds Off Cedar Rapids Tuesday

DAYTON, OHIO - The Cedar Rapids Kernels tried to climb out of a four-run deficit Tuesday, but the Dayton Dragons held on for a 5-3 victory at Fifth Third Field. Dayton guarantees a series victory with its second triumph in as many days against Cedar Rapids. The series finale will be played Wednesday evening.
The Dragons (22-10) scored in each of the first two innings of play and took a 2-0 advantage. Taylor Trammell's two-out triple coupled with an error during the bottom of the first brought in Dayton's first run. In the second inning, Luis Gonzalez drove in Cassidy Brown with an RBI groundout.

Scott Moss collared the Kernels (17-14) at the beginning of his solid start. The left-hander retired 14 of the first 15 batters that he faced, including 13 in a row following a one-out single by Aaron Whitefield in the opening inning.
Cedar Rapids cut its deficit in half to 2-1 in the fifth inning. Caleb Hamilton recorded a two-out double, securing a career-high 10-game on-base streak in the process. Shane Carrier followed with an RBI single to bring in Hamilton and put the Kernels on the scoreboard.
Within the sixth inning, Dayton tallied three runs and increased its lead to 5-1. John Sansone opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly. Two batters later, Brantley Bell produced an RBI double. Gonzalez added a run-scoring single to cap the rally.
Cedar Rapids scored the final two runs Tuesday before losing a close contest. Jaylin Davis lifted his fourth home run of the season during the seventh inning. The Kernels continued their comeback attempt in the ninth with Carrier collecting a two-out RBI single that trimmed the difference to 5-3. Brandon Lopez, the potential go-ahead run, batted next but struck out to end the game.
Moss improved to 4-1 with the win after allowing just one run over five innings of work. Cedar Rapids' Tyler Beardsley gave up five runs in six innings pitched and slipped to 3-2 with the loss. Joel Kuhnel picked up his team-high fifth save after escaping the ninth inning. Hamilton led all batters Tuesday with a career-high three base hits.
This three-game series wraps up Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. ET (6:00 p.m. ET). The probable pitchers are Kernels right-hander Tyler Wells (2-0, 2.17) and Dragons southpaw Wennington Romero (3-0, 1.91). Chris Kleinhans-Schulz will have the call on 1450 KMRY AM and 93.1 KMRY FM and also online at www.kmryradio.com and www.kernels.com.
The next Kernels homestand begins May 15 with a doubleheader at 5:30 p.m. against the Peoria Chiefs. Fans can purchase tickets for all Kernels 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.