Kernels and Sky Carp Split Doubleheader, 4-9 and 8-1

Cedar Rapids, IA - After Beloit rallied to score seven runs in the top of the eighth inning to pull away with a 9-4 victory in game one, Cedar Rapids scored five late runs to knock off the Sky Carp 8-1 in game two.

In the second twin bill of the series, Beloit got on the board first in game one. Johnny Olmstead tripped to lead off the frame, and a Yiddi Cappe walk put the first two runners of the game on for the Sky Carp. A Jake Thompson RBI groundout scored the first Beloit run, and a wild pitch scored the second to put the Sky Carp on top 2-0.

Cedar Rapids rallied back to tie it in the sixth. In the third, Misael Urbina crushed a solo home run to cut the Beloit lead in half, then in the sixth, Gabriel Gonzalez tripped and scored on a Rubel Cespedes RBI single to tie the game at 2-2.

With the score still tied, the game went into extra innings. To lead off the Beloit half of the eighth, Olmstead reached on a fielder’s choice, and the next batter, Cappe, blasted a three-run home run to lift Sky Carp ahead 5-2. After the next two batters reached, Josh Zamora cranked the second Beloit three-run homer of the inning to make it 8-2. The Sky Carp added one more in the frame and went to the bottom of the inning up 9-2.

Cedar Rapids scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning, but it was too little, too late, in the 9-4 game one loss.

In game two, Beloit again got on the board first. Jake DeLeo tripped to lead off the second, and he scored on a Chase Luttrell sac fly to put the Sky Carp on top 1-0.

But that was the only run Kernels’ starter Darren Bowen allowed. In his third start of the season, Bowen picked up his first win in a Cedar Rapids uniform, going five innings, allowing a run on three hits with four strikeouts.

Down by a run in the second, Cedar Rapids grabbed the lead it would never lose. With one out, a Jay Harry single, an Agustin Ruiz double and a Nate Baez walk loaded the bases for Willie Joe Garry Jr., who drove home two with a two-run single. After the next batter, Keoni Cavaco reached on a fielder’s choice, Baez scored on a throwing error to lift the Kernels ahead 3-1.

That was the score until the bottom of the sixth when the Kernels blew it open. An error began the frame, and after a wild pitch, Garry added his third RBI of the game with an RBI base hit. After a strikeout, Luke Keaschall was hit by a pitch to put two on for Gonzalez who cleared the bases with a two-run double. Gonzalez came home to score on an RBI double by Ricardo Olivar, then Olivar scored on a Jay Harry single to push Cedar Rapids ahead 8-1, the score which would be the final.

The Kernels' win is their fourth in the series against Beloit, clinching their ninth straight home series win. The final game of the series is set for tomorrow at 1:05, and both starters have yet to be announced.