Gonzalez’s Walk-Off Sac Fly Caps Off Kernels Comeback Win Over Beloit, 7-6

Cedar Rapids, IA - With the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Gabriel Gonzalez lifted a walk-off sacrifice fly to left field, plating the game-winning run in a 7-6 win over Beloit Friday night.

After falling behind in the first three games of the series, Beloit got on the board first for the first time Friday. In the top of the first inning, a single put a runner on for Josh Zamora, who crushed a two-run home run to put the Sky Carp on top 2-0. Two batters later, a single put a man aboard for Torin Montgomery, who extend the lead to 3-0 with an RBI double.

It didn’t take long for the Kernels to respond. Payton Eeles walked to begin the Kernels half of the first inning, and three batters later trotted home to score on a Rayne Doncon two-run home run to cut the Beloit lead down to 3-2.

In the third, Zamora belted his second home run of the night, a solo shot to extend the Sky Carp lead back to 4-2.

That lead grew even more in the top of the fifth inning. Mark Coley singled to begin the frame, and after he stole second, he scored on a Johnny Olmstead double to make it 5-2. Two batters later, Olmstead scored on an RBI single by Carlos Santiago to extend the lead to a game-high 6-2.

Down by four, the Kernels started to chip away. In the fifth, a Nate Baez single and a Misael Urbina double put runners on second and third with no one out. After a Jose Salas RBI groundout scored Baez, Urbina came home on a wild pitch to make it 6-4.

In the sixth, back-to-back doubles by Jay Harry and Kevin Maitan plated another Kernels run to make it a one-run game at 6-5.

That stayed the score until the ninth inning, thanks to the strong effort by the Kernels bullpen. Juan Mendez (2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 K) and Jacob Wosinski (W, 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 K) kept Cedar Rapids in the game with a combined four scoreless innings of work.

Trailing by a run in the bottom of the ninth, a pair of walks and a Salas bunt single loaded the bases with no one out for Urbina who took a walk to score the game-tying run. With the bases still full, the next batter, Gabriel Gonzalez, plated the winning run with a sacrifice fly to propel Cedar Rapids to the 7-6 victory.

The win is the third straight in the series with Beloit and improves the Kernels to 42-29 on the season and 5-2 in the second half. Game five of the set between the Kernels and Sky Carp is set for Saturday at 6:35 with John Klein on the mound opposite Thomas White.