Munoz, Poppen Lead Kernels to 11-3 Win

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA - The Cedar Rapids Kernels scored 10 unanswered runs Thursday to notch an 11-3 triumph against the Burlington Bees at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Gorge Munoz homered and posted a career-high five runs batted in during a four-hit performance, and Sean Poppen recorded a personal-best nine strikeouts to earn the win.
Munoz finished a triple shy of the cycle while collecting a career-high-tying four hits. His home run Thursday was his first round-tripper as a Kernel. Poppen (6-2) allowed just three unearned runs over seven innings and set a new career high in strikeouts. He also recorded his 10^th quality start in 14 outings this year.

The Kernels (3-5, 42-36) held an early 1-0 lead after the first inning. Travis Blankenhorn's one-out triple ahead of Lewin Diaz set up an RBI groundout for the game's first run.
Burlington (3-5, 34-43) took the lead away in the second. Errors helped load the bases for John Schuknecht, who tied the tilt with an RBI single. Derek Jenkins drove in the go-ahead run during an RBI force out. Jahmai Jones stretched the lead to 3-1 on a two-out, run-scoring single.
During the third inning, Cedar Rapids reclaimed the lead for good. Diaz hit an RBI double, and Amaurys Minier followed with a two-run double. Hank Morrison added an RBI double of his own for a 5-3 Kernels edge. The Kernels' rally put Nate Bertness (3-7) in line for the loss. He gave up five runs in just three innings pitched.
Munoz blasted the Kernels to an 8-3 advantage in the fifth. After back-to-back singles by Morrison and Rortvedt, Munoz crushed a three-run home run to left-center field against Ty Barkell.
Morrison and Munoz increased the lead to 11-3 within the bottom of the eighth inning. Morrison was hit by a pitch from Carlos Salazar to force in Diaz. Munoz brought in Minier and Caleb Hamilton on a two-run double against Kyle Halbohn to cap the scoring. Morrison finished the contest with a career-high three hits along with two runs batted in and one run scored.
Coming up, Cedar Rapids starts a four-game road series at the Clinton LumberKings. Friday's series opener is slated for 6:30 p.m. with Kernels southpaw Domenick Carlini IV (3-6, 5.46) scheduled to pitch against LumberKings right-hander Brandon Miller (8-3, 3.69). Follow the action with Chris Kleinhans-Schulz 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 Tuesday, July 4 and continues through Monday, July 10. 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 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. This weekend, the Kernels Ticket Office will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Saturday and from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Sunday.