Kernels Score Seven Times in the Fifth Inning, Rout TinCaps 12-4

Fort Wayne, IN - After falling behind early, Cedar Rapids scored three times in the fourth and seven times in the fifth to open up a 10-2 lead it would never lose in a 12-4 win over Fort Wayne Friday night.

After sweeping Cedar Rapids in a doubleheader on Friday, the TinCaps opened up an early lead on Saturday. In the bottom of the third, Leo De Vries doubled to start the inning and came home to score on a Brandon Butterworth RBI single to make it 1-0. The next batter, Brendan Durfee, then doubled home Butterworth to up the Fort Wayne lead to 2-0.

But in the top of the fourth, the Kernels responded. An error, a fielder’s choice and a walk loaded the bases for Kaelen Culpepper, who tied the game with a two-run single. Behind him, a Kyle DeBarge sacrifice fly brought home the third run of the inning to jump Cedar Rapids in front 3-2.

In the fifth, the Kernels blew it open. A Nate Baez double opened the inning, and behind him, a walk and a Jaime Ferrer single filled the bases for Kyle Hess, who scored a run with a bases-loaded walk. With the bases still full, a Misael Urbina RBI single made it a 5-2 game, and a Jose Salas RBI fielder’s choice increased the lead to 6-2. After a Kaelen Culpepper walk re-loaded the bases, Kyle DeBarge forced home a run by taking ball four to make it 7-2. The next batter, Brandon Winokur, upped the lead to 8-2 with an RBI groundout before Baez capped off the seven-run inning with a two-run single, his second hit of the frame, to make it a 10-2 Cedar Rapids lead.

The eight-run lead was more than enough for Kernels’ starter Chase Chaney. The right-hander allowed three runs across six innings of work with seven strikeouts, earning the win in his third quality start of the season.

After Fort Wayne got a run back in the sixth inning, the Kernels added a run in the eighth. Two walks and a Jaime Ferrer single loaded the bases for Hess, who plated a run with an RBI groundout to make it 11-3.

An Ethan Long solo home run in the bottom of the eighth brought Fort Wayne back within seven before a Ferrer bases-loaded hit-by-pitch in the top of the ninth set the Cedar Rapids lead at 12-4, the score that would be the final.

The victory improves the Kernels to 25-18 on the season and to 3-2 in the series with the TinCaps. Cedar Rapids goes for the series win in Fort Wayne Sunday night at 5:35 with Alejandro Hidalgo on the mound opposite Eric Yost.