Lake County Scores Six Times in the Third, Captains Top Kernels 7-4

Eastlake, OH - Lake County broke a 1-1 tie with six runs in the bottom of the third inning and never looked back in a 7-4 win over Cedar Rapids Friday night.

After back-to-back Kernels wins, Lake County got on the board first on Friday. Angel Genao opened the bottom of the first inning with a double, and two batters later, he came home to score on a Ralphy Velazquez RBI single to put the Captains on top 1-0.

In the third, the Kernels tied the game. Jose Salas singled to open the inning, and after he stole second, he scored three batters later on a Walker Jenkins RBI double to tie the game at 1-1.

But it would not be tied for long. Jonah Advincula singled to open up the bottom of the third, and after he moved to second on an error, he scored on a Genao RBI single to lift the Captains ahead 2-1. After the next batter doubled to put two in scoring position, Velazquez upped the lead to 4-1 with a two-run single. The next batter, Jacob Cozart, then worked a walk to put two on for Alex Mooney, who capped off the six-run inning with a three-run home run to lift Lake County ahead 7-1.

That stayed the score all the way until the top of the eighth. On the first pitch of the inning, Rixon Wingrove smashed a solo home run to dead center field to get the Kernels back on the board at 7-2. Behind him, Jose Salas was hit by a pitch and scored all the way from first on a Kyle Hess RBI double. Three batters later, with Hess still on second, Gabriel Gonzalez brought Cedar Rapids one run closer with an RBI double of his own to make it a three-run game, but it was too little too late in the 7-4 loss.

The Cedar Rapids bullpen was a highlight for the Kernels in the loss. Samuel Perez, Nolan Santos and Xander Hamilton all pitched two scoreless innings in relief, holding the Captains scoreless across the final six innings.

The defeat drops Cedar Rapids to 64-58 on the year and 27-31 in the second half. Game five of the series in Lake County is set for Saturday night at 6:00 with Connor Prielipp on the mound opposite Carter Spivey.