Kernels Blow Out Bandits for 11-2 Victory

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA - Strong offensive performances by Trey Cabbage and Jacob Pearson along with a quality start from Blayne Enlow led the Cedar Rapids Kernels to an 11-2 triumph Tuesday against the Quad Cities River Bandits at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Cedar Rapids (5-8) and Quad Cities (7-5) are now tied at 1-1 in a three-game series that was originally scheduled to be played at Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport, Iowa before flooding forced a venue change.
Cabbage finished a double shy of hitting for the cycle and tallied a career-high five runs batted in. He broke a scoreless deadlock with a three-run home run in the third inning to secure his Midwest League-high-tying fourth round-tripper this year. His stellar outing also included a two-run triple during the eighth.

Pearson missed the cycle by a triple while hitting safely in his final three at-bats. He homered within the seventh inning and added an RBI single in the eighth to cap the scoring in a four-run rally that stretched Cedar Rapids' lead to 10-2 at that time.
Enlow (2-1) held the River Bandits to two runs including just one earned run during his first quality start of the season. His six innings pitched tied a career high and set a new team season high for longest start.
Following Cabbage's tie-breaking clout within the third inning, both teams plated single runs in the fourth and fifth frames. Cedar Rapids scored six runs over the final three innings to pull away for the victory.
Austin Hansen (1-1) gave up four runs and five hits in three-plus innings pitched and suffered his first loss. Quad Cities yielded a season-high 11 runs and nine walks as a team.
The rubber game between Cedar Rapids and Quad Cities is slated for 6:35 p.m. Wednesday. Kernels right-hander Jordan Balazovic (1-1, 2.79) and River Bandits right-hander Nivaldo Rodriguez (1-0, 1.80) are the probable starters. Chris Kleinhans-Schulz will call the contest on 1450 KMRY AM and 93.1 KMRY FM and also online at www.kmryradio.com and www.kernels.com.
Gates will open at 5:30 p.m. for Wednesday's rubber game as part of this special series with the Kernels playing as the visiting team in their home ballpark.
Fans can purchase tickets for all Cedar Rapids 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 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays. On Sundays when the Kernels have a home game, the Kernels Ticket Office will open at 11:00 a.m.