Cespedes Homers and Collects Three Hits, But Kernels Fall in Dayton 4-3

Dayton, OH - Rubel Cespedes crushed his 12th home run of the year as part of a three-hit night, but it was not enough as the Dragons grabbed game two of the series over Cedar Rapids 4-3.

Cespedes got his big night started right away in the top of the second. To lead off the frame, he crushed a solo home run to right to lift the Kernels ahead 1-0.

In the fourth, Cespedes struck again. Walker Jenkins doubled to open the inning, and two batters later, Cespedes notched his second RBI of the night with a single to double the lead to 2-0.

In the bottom half of the frame, Dayton got on the board. To open the inning, Leo Balcazar smashed a solo home to get the Dragons on the board and make it 2-1.

That stayed the score until the bottom of the sixth when the Dragons rallied to tie it. Ethan O’Donnell walked to open the frame, and after he stole second and moved to third on a groundout, he scored to tie the game at 2-2 on a Balcazar RBI base hit.

Cedar Rapids regained the lead in the top of the eighth. To open the inning, Kaelen Culpepper ripped a double for his first high-A hit. After Walker Jenkins walked, the pair moved to second and third on a wild pitch and Culpepper scored on a Gabriel Gonzalez base hit to lift the Kernels back on top 3-2.

In the bottom half of the inning, Dayton punched back. Jay Allen reached on a bunt single to open the frame, and after he stole second, he scored on an Ethan O’Donnell single to tie the game at 3-3. As the go-ahead run, O’Donnell stole second, moved to third on a groundout, and came home score on Balcazar’s third RBI hit of the night to lift the Dragons on top 4-3, the score which would be the final.

The loss is the Kernels second straight to begin the series in Dayton and drops Cedar Rapids to 61-53 on the season and 24-26 in the second half. Game three of the series is set for Thursday night at 6:05 with Ty Langenberg on the mound opposite Brian Edgington.