Loons Blank Kernels, Top Cedar Rapids for Third Straight Night, 6-0

Midland, MI - Great Lakes pitching combined to hold Cedar Rapids to just four hits Friday night as the Loons handed the Kernels their second shutout loss of the season, 6-0.

After scoring four times in the first inning on Thursday, Great Lakes again jumped out early on Friday. In the bottom of the third, Noah Miller led off the frame with a single. After he stole second, he came home to score two batters later on a Kyle Nevin RBI base hit to put the Loons on top 1-0.

That, however, was the only run allowed by Kernels starter Jeremy Lee. In his third start with Cedar Rapids, Lee went four innings, allowing one run on four hits with a high-A best five strikeouts.

With Lee out of the game, Great Lakes blew it open in the fifth. Three straight walks with no outs loaded the bases to begin the inning. With the bases full and no one out, Sam Mongelli extended the Loons' lead to 3-0 with a two-run single. Two batters later, Nick Biddison grew the advantage to 4-0 with a run-scoring hit, and on a fielder’s choice to the next batter, Nelson Quiroz, Great Lakes scored its fifth run in the inning to make it 5-0.

The Loons got some more insurance on a Miller RBI single in the eighth inning, and their strong pitching, which held the Kernels to just four hits on the night, took them the rest of the way to a 6-0 win.

Ricardo Velez was again a bright spot on the mound for the Kernels. In his team-leading 19th appearance of the season, Velez went 2.2 scoreless innings in relief, allowing just a single base runner on a walk.

The loss is the second shutout defeat for the Kernels this year and drops Cedar Rapids to 31-23 on the season. Game five of the six-game series with Great Lakes is set for tomorrow night at 6:05, with Miguelangel Boadas on the mound opposite Peter Heubeck.