Maciel's Multiple Homers Highlight 9-6 Victory

DAVENPORT, IOWA - Gabriel Maciel homered from each side of the plate within his first professional multi-homer game Saturday as the Cedar Rapids Kernels defeated the Quad Cities River Bandits, 9-6, at Modern Woodmen Park. Cedar Rapids (31-17, 63-54) tallied at least one run in the second through sixth innings to build a lead that Quad Cities (26-22, 66-52) could not overcome.
Maciel's two home runs helped the Kernels establish an 8-0 advantage through the top of the fifth. Maciel opened the scoring with a second-inning solo shot while batting left-handed. Ryan Jeffers added an RBI single in the third prior to a two-run home run by Trevor Larnach. Maciel scored another run during the fourth on Andrew Bechtold's RBI single. Ben Rodriguez produced an RBI single of his own in the fifth, and Maciel followed by launching a two-run blast as a right-handed hitter.

Based on information available on The Gazette's digital archive, Maciel is believed to be the first Kernel to homer from both sides of the plate in the same game since Chuck Abbott accomplished the feat in an 8-1 victory July 24, 1997 against Wisconsin at the old Veterans Memorial Stadium. Abbott also homered from each side at Quad City during an 11-4 win May 20, 1997.
In the bottom of the fifth Saturday, Quad Cities broke through and trimmed its deficit to 8-2. The first 12 River Bandits were retired in order before Chandler Taylor walked to lead off the fifth. Marty Costes singled and pushed Taylor to third base, and both runners came home on a double for Miguelangel Sierra.
The Kernels and the River Bandits each scored during the sixth inning. Larnach gave Cedar Rapids an insurance run by scoring after a single from Michael Helman. Colton Shaver answered with a solo shot for Quad Cities, and Sierra added a sacrifice fly later in the inning to pull Quad Cities within 9-4.
Quad Cities rallied in the ninth but only sliced Cedar Rapids' lead to 9-6. Michael Papierski hit a solo home run to open the inning. Near the end of the frame, David Hensley hit an RBI single that plated Logan Mattix.
Jordan Balazovic (6-3) carried a perfect game into the fifth and only allowed two hits and two runs within a winning decision. Leovanny Rodriguez (4-5) took the loss after giving up five runs in four innings pitched. Calvin Faucher limited Quad Cities to two runs over three frames and picked up his third save.
Game two between Cedar Rapids and Quad Cities is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. Sunday. Kernels right-hander Jhoan Duran (overall: 6-4, 4.27) will face River Bandits right-hander Edgardo Sandoval (0-1, 2.25). 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.
Cedar Rapids' next homestand begins Monday, August 13 and continues through Friday, August 17. Fans can purchase tickets for all Cedar Rapids 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.