Loons Score Early and Add on Late in 8-3 Win Over Cedar Rapids

Midland, MI - Great Lakes scored four times in the first inning and added on four runs in the late stages to hold off the Kernels in an 8-3 Loons win Thursday night.

After jumping out to a 6-0 lead on Wednesday, Great Lakes did not waste any time getting on the scoreboard in game three of the series. With two outs in the bottom of the first, Kyle Nevin reached with a double. After the next batter walked, Sam Mongelli put the Loons on the board with a two-run double. With Mongelli on second, the next batter, Jake Gelof, smoked his second home run of the series to double the lead to 4-0 after one.

In the top of the second, the Kernels rallied right back. With one out, back-to-back hits from Kevin Maitan and Misael Urbina put two runners on for Jose Salas, who got the Kernels on the board with a two-run single. The next batter, Nate Baez, then brought Cedar Rapids within one at 4-3 with an RBI double.

It stayed a one-run game until the bottom of the sixth inning. After allowing four runs in the first frame, Kernels starter Darren Bowen went the next four innings scoreless to finish with a line of 5.0 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 4 K, and 1 BB.

In the sixth frame, however, the Loons grabbed some insurance. To begin the frame, Chris Newell walked and stole second. Two batters later, he came home to score on a Nick Biddison RBI single to extend the Great Lakes lead to 5-3.

In the seventh, Nevin continued his big night with a two-run homer, and in the eighth, Biddison crushed a solo shot to extend the Loons' lead to 8-3, the score that would be the final.

The Kernels drop their second straight game in the series to Great Lakes, getting just one hit across the final seven innings of the contest after the three-run second. The loss drops Cedar Rapids to 31-22 on the season as it gets set for game four of the series tomorrow night. Jeremy Lee gets the start for the Kernels opposite Christian Romero at 6:05.