Blankenhorn Steals Home to Grab 2-1 Win

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA - Travis Blankenhorn stole home plate in the eighth inning Saturday to lift the Cedar Rapids Kernels to a 2-1 victory against the Clinton LumberKings in front of a season-high crowd of 3,896 fans at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Tyler Wells (4-1) posted 10 strikeouts over a career-best eight innings pitched to pick up the win.
The victory puts the Kernels (38-31) into the Western Division Wild Card spot by a half-game over the Quad Cities River Bandits (36-30), who were still playing at the Beloit Snappers as Cedar Rapids' contest went final. The Kernels would need one more win and one River Bandits loss or two total Quad Cities losses to secure a Midwest League first-half playoff berth.

Saturday's tilt started as a pitchers' duel. Wells retired 15 of the first 16 batters that he faced and also set down 13 in a row in one stretch. Lane Ratliff tossed 3.2 scoreless innings before Steven Moyers came in to keep the shutout alive for Clinton.
Clinton (31-35) opened the scoring in the top of the sixth, but Cedar Rapids answered in the home half of the frame. Nick Zammarelli III led off with a double and later scored during a force out off the bat of Bryson Brigman. Jermaine Palacios singled in the bottom of the sixth and made it to third base before Jaylin Davis' RBI single against Moyers tied the contest at 1-1.
Blankenhorn's steal pushed the Kernels to a 2-1 lead late in the eighth. He reached on an error to open the inning and advanced after a groundout and a fly out. A pair of walks loaded the bases for Brandon Lopez, who fell behind in the count against Jack Anderson. As Anderson was coming set for the 1-2 pitch, Blankenhorn took off and stole home for the go-ahead run. The unearned run was charged to Anderson, and he was tagged with the loss to drop to 1-2 this year.
Hector Lujan relieved Wells for the ninth inning and fired a perfect frame to lock up Cedar Rapids' 2-1 triumph. He induced a groundout from Luis Rengifo and a fly out from Joe Rizzo to begin the ninth. Lujan struck out Anthony Jimenez to secure the game and his sixth save in as many chances this season.
Sunday's first-half finale will be at 2:05 p.m. between Cedar Rapids and Clinton. Catch the coverage with Chris Kleinhans-Schulz on 1450 KMRY AM and 93.1 KMRY FM and also online at www.kmryradio.com, www.kernels.com, and MiLB.TV.
The first 1,000 fans through the gates Sunday will get a foam finger courtesy of Goodwill of the Heartland. Western Fraternal Life Kids Eat Free Sunday includes coupons for a free hot dog, popcorn, and Capri Sun for all kids aged 12 and under. All fans can run the bases, play catch in the outfield, and get autographs from the Kernels after the game on Run the Bases Sunday presented by Prairie Farms and 104.5 KDAT. Coors Light Bike to the Ballpark encourages fans to ride their bikes to the contest to be eligible for prizes. Travel Advisors Baseball Bingo features a chance to win a trip to Minneapolis to see a Twins game.
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 Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. On Sundays when the Kernels have a home game, the Kernels Ticket Office will open at 11:00 a.m.